Street Sentinel
by miznettie
Summary: Magnificent Seven ATF/Sentinel. Vin Tanner and Ezra Standish are teenagers. Just about all main characters are either Guides or Sentinels. Chris Larabee's ATF team is lured to Cascade. Is someone out for revenge against Larabee or are they really after Jim Ellison?
1. Chapter 1

**Street Sentinel**

Magnificent Seven ATF/The Sentinel Crossover

By Miz Nettie

May 2015

I do not own the rights to the Magnificent Sever or The Sentinel. No profit was made. Over the last 15 years I have read many, many great fanfiction stories. I have included some terms and phrases that I have read in other stories. Hopefully no one will be offended. Warnings: Language, some violence

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October nights in Cascade Washington could be anywhere from pleasantly cool to downright cold. The lowest temperatures usually arrived just before dawn, at which time anyone with a choice and half a lick of common sense would be tucked away somewhere nice and warm. And if they did find themselves out in the cold they would certainly wear a warm coat or heavy clothes to ward off the chill. They wouldn't be found crouching on the filthy ground behind a stack of old shipping crates in a deserted alley wearing nothing more than an old t-shirt, ripped jeans, worn sneakers and a thin denim jacket. Not if they had any sense. Or a choice.

The coughing fit finally came to an end, allowing young Vin Tanner to push himself upright and rest his back against the brick wall of the old warehouse that was his only shelter from the cold. _'Gawd. I feel like shit. Probably look as bad as I feel. Like it matters what I look like. Like it matters to anyone but me what I feel like.'_

Underweight, exhausted and running a temperature of 102, the homeless teenager could have been a poster child for any number of charity organizations. His unkempt, dirty-blond hair fell past his shoulders while greasy locks of it constantly covered bloodshot eyes. Two years of surviving on the streets of Cascade Washington had taken a heavy toll on the youth and his malnourished body was fast approaching the point of no return.

Huddled in his threadbare clothes with constant shivers wracking his too thin body, Vin knew he wasn't going to survive the winter. It was still early in November but he was already sick with something a lot worse than the flu. The fever, the cough, and the sore throat he could mostly ignore; just like he ignored all the other aches and pains of his beleaguered body. It was the crazy things going on with his mind that had him convinced he would soon be dead at the tender age of fourteen.

 _'But I don't want to die. Not alone in some stinking alley filled with trash. Hell! I don't want to die in a clean alley neither.'_ Vin's thoughts of death were scattered by the onslaught of another coughing fit that scoured the inside of his raw throat. Eventually it ended and the ailing teen tilted his head back to rest against the dirty wall, moaning in both pain and relief at the brief respite. With his blue eyes tightly closed, he found himself almost praying for one of those strange, empty periods of time that seemed to plague him with greater frequency as his odd sickness progressed.

He couldn't remember for sure when the first incident had occurred; it was lost amid the day-to-day struggle just to survive. But in the last week he'd found it almost impossible to sleep or eat; the two things his body needed most.

Sleeping in a box in an alley was challenging enough in cold weather with normal hearing; uncomfortable but not impossible. But when the sound of a car door slamming from two blocks away sounded like a gun firing right beside his head, shell-shocked nerves would not allow him to shut his eyes for more than five or ten minutes at a time. As for food; having his nose physically assaulted by even his own body odor, let alone overflowing rubbish bins, made scrounging difficult and eating nearly impossible.

 _'At least sometimes I can't taste what I'm eating. Wouldn't mind having that happen more often. Could do without the prickly skin though. And having my vision go all crazy. Maybe that's it; maybe I've gone crazy and just don't know it. Damn it, why me? What'd I do that was so awful that I wound up like this?'_ Deprived of sleep and food, his body succumbing to some strange illness, Vin bowed his head and fought back tears of self-pity as he contemplated the bleakness of his future and the few options available to him.

 _'Can't go to the free clinic. Well, reckon I could but I ain't sure it'd be worth it.'_ To be honest with himself, the idea of going to the free clinic was more frightening than the thought of dying. The doctor in charge had a nasty reputation for taking advantage of the homeless that sought his help. Rumor had it that he especially liked teenage boys. In fact, the doctor's rep was so bad that even street hardened gang members would risk going to a regular hospital for help after a fight rather than fall under his care. Of course most gang members actually had families to take them back after the officials were done with them. _'And I've gone this long without selling my ass for money, don't reckon on trading it now for a shot of medicine. Course, I could be so bad off even that perv wouldn't want me.'_ The barest ghost of a smile caused Vin's lips to twitch but a cool gust of wind and a hard shiver quickly snuffed the spark of dark humor.

 _'So what does that leave me?'_ It all boiled down to how badly did he want to live. Bad enough to let a predator of a healer have his way with him? _'Nope. Just can't even think about that.'_ Bad enough to go to a hospital and give himself up to the system for the time it took them to heal his body? Vin's brow furrowed as he gave that some serious thought.

A hospital wouldn't be such a hard way to go if he was sure that it was just his body that was ailing. But what if the gaps in his memory really were being caused by a defective brain? What if he was having some kind of weird mental seizures and he suffered a spell while under the watchful eyes of a social worker? _'Oh gawd! They'd lock me up for sure.'_ And as much as he'd hated the foster homes he'd been placed in, he was sure they had to be better than a nut house. And he already knew he was retarded as far as general book learning went. He remembered taking some tests a few years earlier and being labeled with one of those tongue-twisting words that basically came down to a simple case of being too stupid to learn like normal kids. _'Blackouts on top of being retarded and a rep for running away? They definitely wouldn't try to find a home for me. I guess social workers would take the easy route and shut me away 'till I hit eighteen. Then I'd be a homeless, retarded adult and not their problem anymore.'_

No help from the government. No help from the other street dwellers. No help from anyone living. What did that leave? What if dying was the only option? Which would be better, slow or fast? Vin drew in a ragged breath and fingered the switchblade he had tucked in his jacket pocket. _'Old Mose said it was just like going to sleep. The cuts hurt at first but then the cold sets in and you don't feel a thing.'_ No pain. No fear. Nothing. What else had the old bum said? Oh yeah. _'Heart might pound for a bit but then you'd fall asleep before the final beat. That don't sound so bad. And hell, can't get much colder than this.'_ A deep sleep. A lasting peace. No more hunger. No more cold or pain. No more fear and no more being all-alone. No more anything.

 _'And it ain't like anybody's gonna miss me. Or care when they find my body. Just one less street rat to deal with. If I did it here, wonder how long it would take for someone to find me? Rats would probably get to me first. Not that it would matter. Guess that's what it all comes down to; live or die, it just don't matter. Nobody cares. Nobody except me.'_ Vin squeezed his eyes tighter but he could no longer hold back the warm tears that ran silently down his pale cheeks. _'And it ain't like I got much to look forward to. Days, months or years; I'm still gonna be living on the streets. All alone. I guess it really doesn't matter when I die or how. I just… wish...I just wish that there was someone. Just one person… that did care. I wish I mattered to just one person. Someone that would miss me just a little when I'm gone.'_ But there wasn't anyone. There hadn't been for a long time; not since his mom had died when he was just six. And now it looked like his time left in the world was going to be too short for there to be another someone who cared about Vin Tanner.

Vin drew in a ragged breath and for a moment his fingers tightened on the blade in his pocket. All he had to do was pull it out and flip it open. Just a few seconds and it would all be over. Two quick strokes and the job was done. So simple. So easy.

Slowly Vin pulled his fingers from the hilt of his knife and used that hand to wipe the tears from his face. Raising his head, he slowly blinked his surroundings back into focus. It was tempting. Maybe a little too tempting on this cold, lonely morning. And if it hadn't been for the strange but soothing drum notes sounding in his head, he might have given in. But the soft, steady rhythm had woken him from one of those empty periods of time early in the night and had worked its way deep into his skull. And while it was one more bit of weirdness to add to his growing collection of symptoms, something about the faint sound had pulled him to this alley and kept him here all through the pre-dawn hours.

Waiting.

For what, he didn't know. But it kept him from simply getting up and walking away. And it also kept him from making that final, irreversible decision because while listening to it, he didn't feel so completely alone. Vin tucked his arms behind his drawn up knees and bent his head once more. _'But for how long? How long is it gonna keep going? And what am I gonna do when it stops?'_


	2. Chapter 2

Ezra P. Standish frowned as he shifted uncomfortably. Still more asleep than not, he rolled to his right side, trying to find a better position. The slight thump of his forehead against a wall caused him to blink his green eyes open in bleary surprise. Since when had the side of his bed been pushed up against a wall? And who had painted the walls such an awful shade of beige? And when? And… wait a second...this wasn't his wall. Ezra rolled to his back and slowly brought his surroundings into focus.

The waking sixteen year old would be the first to admit, and quite proudly too, that he was not a morning person and just barely an early afternoon sort of individual. Owls had nothing on him. The last time he had actually witnessed a rising sun had been due solely to the fact that he had gone entirely without sleep for over twenty-four hours. To put it bluntly, his brain didn't do mornings. And yet, judging by the color and intensity of the sunlight streaming through the dirty window high on the opposite wall, it was indeed morning. Early morning.

Ezra groaned and tried to think past the wool in his head. Awake early in the morning. Looking at a wall that wasn't his wall. At a window that wasn't his window. And apparently he had been sleeping on an old cot that was definitely not his full sized bed with its down filled comforter. Where the hell was he and how had he gotten here?

Shakily Ezra pushed himself upright and swung his legs over the side of the cot. Three things struck him at once. The first was that he felt absolutely awful; much like he had the previous year when he had gotten the flu followed immediately by pneumonia; weak, achy, just this side of nauseous and with a head that felt both too full and too empty at the same time. The second thing he noticed was the fact that he was fully dressed in the clothes he remembered putting on the day before; everything from his dark blue Polo shirt to his Harrington loafers. The third and most terrible thing he took note of was the fact that he had to use a restroom something on the scale of an emergency.

Staggering to his feet and seeing nothing in the small room besides the bed and the window, he stumbled to the door and reached for the knob. And missed. No, that wasn't quite correct because he couldn't miss what wasn't there. Ezra stared blankly at the smooth surface where a knob should have been. Maybe the door didn't need a knob? He placed his palm against the panel and pushed. He pushed a little harder. He placed both palms on the door and shoved with all his might. He tried his shoulder next. When none of those things worked it just seemed natural to begin pounding and yelling for someone to come and let him out.

A few minutes later he dropped his hands to his sides and barely made it back to the cot before a wave of dizziness could send him to the floor. Laying down again he tried to catch his breath and actually think past his demanding bladder.

 _'_ _OK, Standish lets take it one thing at a time. First, what day is it?'_ Ezra looked at his watch and noted that it was Wednesday and it was indeed an ungodly hour of the morning. _'Right. So what is the last thing you remember? Let's see, Tuesday afternoon is my class on Shielding followed by English and World History. I attended each of those. Following History, I … had dinner. I wanted sushi. Rengee's. Yes, I went to Rengee's and had sushi. And Tosh slipped me a beer in a Styrofoam cup. Then…'_

Ezra stared at the ceiling as he tried to remember anything after the beer. What did he usually do after he ate dinner at Rengee's? Talk to Tosh?… A few hands of poker in the back room of Ralph's? … A cab ride back to Thornton's Gifted Guide School?… Climbing back up the ladder to his second floor dorm room some time after midnight?...

Nothing. Not one memory past dinner, and now a locked room and an overall feeling of unwellness. It all pointed to just one thing.

"Good lord! I've been drugged and kidnapped!" Ezra sat up straight on the cot. "And I really need a bathroom."

Making it to his feet once more, he tugged and pushed on the cot until it was positioned beneath the small window which was apparently the only other exit besides the door and about a foot higher than his own 5'5". Balancing on the thin mattress, Ezra grasped the windowsill and peered out at his surroundings.

"Gyahh!" Standish yelped in surprise and almost tumbled from the cot as he jerked back from the glass. He'd expected to see a road, another building, a field or an empty parking lot. Objects that would give him some idea of what kind of building he was in if not exactly where. What he had not expected to see was a pair of intense, blue eyes staring straight back at him. Catching his breath and his balance, Ezra again looked out the window.

The eyes were still there but this time Ezra noticed the pale, narrow face that surrounded them and the brownish blond hair that partly obscured the eye on the right. It was a very young face but the expression and the intensity of the stare added years to the boy's appearance. Boy, yes definitely a boy. Twelve? Thirteen? Ezra gave his head a slight shake and focused on the task at hand.

"Can you hear me? I need you to call the police. I've been kidnapped and locked in this room." Ezra paused and waited for a response but the boy continued to simply stare at him. "Hello? Did you hear me? I need help!" He refrained from mentioning his urgent need for a bathroom, deciding to stick with the most pertinent facts. When the boy didn't move Ezra realized he might need to sweeten the deal. "Alright, I'll pay you..." He reached for his wallet and discovered that it was missing. "I'll pay you twenty dollars as soon as the police get here." Surely one of them would spot him the money once he explained that he was the son of Maude Standish, widow of the extremely wealthy west coast shipping tycoon. Ezra fully expected the offer of money to get some kind of response. He was surprised when the boy continued to simply stare at him.

Ezra opened his mouth to try shouting louder but hesitated as it suddenly occurred to him that he had not seen the boy blink the whole time he'd been yelling at him. Lifting his right hand, he waved it in front of the glass. Nothing. Not even a flicker of an eyeball. Ezra felt the hairs on the back of his neck start to rise. The boy's frozen state seemed familiar somehow but he couldn't think why. He quickly cataloged the boy's appearance; silently standing, immobile, staring out as if in some kind of trance or...

"Zone!" Ezra gasped the word aloud as it suddenly clicked. This was a textbook description of what a Sentinel looked like when they were Zoned. But Sentinels didn't start zoning until they were old enough to Bond and that never happened until around the early twenties. So, it couldn't be a real Zone. For that matter, the boy might not even be a Sentinel. Maybe he was just having some kind of seizure? Well, there was certainly one way to find out. And focusing on this new puzzle helped to take his mind off his own situation.

Deciding to stay on his feet, he first propped his shoulders against the wall putting his back to the window. Then taking a deep breath, Ezra began a silent meditation exercise to calm his nerves and temporarily ignore the distractions of his physical surroundings. It took a little extra effort to block out the increasingly painful demands of his bladder but he eventually managed a mostly serene state. It wasn't perfect but it would have to do. _'Now, picture the box, finely crafted, rich mahogany with delicate inlays. The hinges and clasp are polished brass.'_

It was perhaps a bit more detail than the Shielding instructor had intended when he used a box as an example but Ezra had been raised with a taste for quality and an eye for details. _'Now, release the clasp and slowly raise the lid.'_ Which was actually more difficult than it sounded. The imaginary clasp tended to stick and the hinges were determined not to move. Ezra struggled with the lid of the box that represented the shield blocking his empathy. He knew that once he was Bonded with a Sentinel he would have the exact opposite problem. Where as he currently had to struggle to release his gift, once Bonded he would be constantly expelling energy to keep the 'box' tightly closed. And if his strength tests were anything to go by, he'd also be working to keep the sides and bottom intact. He would have to be paired with a Sentinel equally as strong to act as a psionic 'white noise generator' to give him sufficient time to rest and rebuild his energy levels.

"But that's years away and I want this...box...open...now!" Ezra sagged against the wall as he finally opened his shielding enough to make use of his emphatic abilities. Now he merely had to channel it outward in a slowly expanding orb until he encountered the emotions of the boy standing on the other side of the wall. In theory it should have worked and it would have, if there had been anyone around him producing psionic vibrations.

Every human produced psionic vibrations when they experienced an emotion. Depending on the intensity of the emotion and the person's mental strength, the vibrations could be quite strong, painfully so to an empath. Sluggish, dull vibrations of contentment or boredom could be also be aggravating to a very strong empath hence the need for mental shields or a strong Sentinel to block the psionic waves. Even a sleeping person produced the psionic vibrations. If there was brain activity, there was a signal. The only times a living person failed to give emotional pulses was when they were brain dead, in a deep coma or...

"A Zoned Sentinel." Ezra whispered his shocking discovery. "But that's...that's..." He would have eventually said impossible but at that moment he did begin picking up emotions, very strong waves of anger and fear. He knew instantly they weren't coming from the boy who still stood frozen, so that just left..."The kidnappers!" Ezra's concentration slipped but he managed to stop his shields from completely closing. He focused his limited powers on the men approaching and his mind raced as he stared at the locked door. He could move the cot back over to the other wall and chances were good they would never notice the child Sentinel. Not from inside the room anyway. But what if they searched outside and found him? Or worse yet, what if no one found him and he stayed frozen until he slipped into a coma and died? Ezra suddenly realized he had no idea how long the boy had been trapped in the Zone.

"Damn it all to hell!" Frustration and an overwhelming sense of helplessness made him lash out both verbally and physically. Turning back to the window his right hand slapped against the glass directly in front of the young Sentinel's face. "Why did you have to Zone right here?!"

What Ezra had failed to notice was that while his head was turned, the blue eyes that had been frozen before in an endless stare were blinking as awareness slowly returned to their owner. The noise and sudden motion of Ezra's hand caused the underage Sentinel to jerk in surprise. For one brief moment Standish had a glimpse of the boy's shocked expression before it suddenly disappeared with a startled cry and the sound of crashing wood.

"What was that?!" The voice was muffled by the door but Ezra easily matched it with some of the dark emotions he was picking up.

"How the hell should I know? Hurry and get the fucking door open! The cops are going to be here any minute!"

Knowing there was no time to move the cot, Ezra merely dropped down and took a seat on its edge, doing his best to project an image of innocence. While he listened anxiously to his kidnappers fumbling with the lock, he forced his empathic powers outward, searching for the young Sentinel. His training came in handy as he filtered out most of the strong emotions of the two men on the other side of the door and found the distinctive pattern of the boy outside his window.

Fear. Pain. Confusion. The first hints of panic. All the expected emotions of a Sentinel coming out of a Zone in desperate need of guidance. Instinct kicked in and Ezra began projecting calmness and comfort. He became so focused on mentally aiding the boy on the other side of the wall that he almost failed to react to the opening of his prison door.

"On your feet kid!"

Ezra needn't have worried about the cot. His abductors were in too big of a hurry to even notice its new position.

"I demand that you...ahhh!" Ezra reeled as the palm of a broad hand struck his cheek. Never having been hit in the face before, the teenager found the experience both painful and terrifying.

"Shut up!" The slapper, a dark haired, heavyset man with thick eyebrows and bad breath, jerked Ezra to his feet and shoved him toward the door. "Make another sound and I'll rip your tongue out."

Standish stumbled and fell against the door frame. He barely had time to catch his balance when a shove between his shoulder blades sent him staggering across the warehouse floor. Tripping over his own feet he fell heavily to his knees and cried out as something sharp penetrated his slacks.

"What did I tell you?"

Survival instinct took over and Ezra rolled to his side, drawing himself up into a tight ball with his arms over his head. Panic began to set in as he realized he couldn't shut out the kidnapper's emotions. It was as if the lid of his mental box was jammed open. Emotional lances of hate and anger pierced his unshielded mind leaving him disoriented and nauseous. He tried to clamp his jaws shut as a bruising grip on his upper arm yanked him to his feet but the sudden, jerking motion acted as a trigger for his volatile stomach.

"Shit! Gawd dammit!" The kidnapper released his hold and jumped back as a gush of vomit struck him right in the chest. "Son of a fucking bitch!" His foot lashed out in anger catching Ezra on his left thigh as he continued to heave.

The second man stepped forward and caught his partner's arm before he could land another blow on the helpless teen. "Frank! Just leave him! The cops are going to be all over this place in another minute. We've got to get out of here. We'll just give the guy back his money."

"Dumb ass! We spent most of it. And you don't just hand money back to a buyer like that and say, 'Oh, sorry; here's your fucking refund!' All that time wasted! Damn it!" Jerking his arm free, Frank reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a gun.

"What are you doing man?"

Frank glared at his partner as he chambered a round. "What does it look like? The Guide's seen our faces and now, thanks to you 'Bill' he knows my name. No way we're going to risk him getting to the police. Killing him may buy us enough time to cover our tracks."

Bill shook his head and moved as if to reach for the gun. "No way man. Kidnapping and selling a kid Guide is one thing but I ain't about to go down to a Sentinel hunting pack for killing him. Don't you remember what happened to that rapist in New York?"

"That's just bullshit. They didn't really..."

"It made the news man! They tore his dick off and fed it to him. And that Guide lived! What do you think they're gonna do to someone that actually kills one?"

"We're wasting time! This is just a kid! He's not Bonded! Now go get the car started while I finish this and stash the body."

Bill swallowed any further protest and stepped back. He had been partnered with Frank long enough to tell when arguing was useless. Maybe if he got clear of the room before Frank pulled the trigger, he could convince the Sentinels that he was innocent of anything other than kidnapping and that he hadn't actually harmed the young Guide. Taking one last look at the boy lying barely conscious in a puddle of vomit, Bill shook his head and hurried away. His body jerked at the loud report made by the gun and he fought the urge to take off running like an athlete at a track race. Bill forced himself to continue walking and not look back, and so he never saw the lead pipe that connected with the back of his neck hard enough to crush bone. In fact he never saw anything ever again. He was dead before his face hit the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

"What have we got Chief?" Detective James Ellison didn't stop to hear his Guide's answer as he moved to the driver's side of his truck. With his Sentinel enhanced hearing he could have heard Blair's voice from several blocks away, so picking up his words over the noise of a busy, downtown street was no challenge at all.

"Kidnapping from the Thornton School for Gifted Guides." Blair Sandburg climbed into the passenger side of the truck and buckled his seat belt while he spoke. "Student's name is Ezra Patrick Standish, son of Maude Standish Hampton who is the widow of…"

"Walter Hampton the Third, the west coast shipping tycoon." Ellison pulled away from the curb and entered the heavy traffic. "How much are the kidnappers asking for and what's our deadline?"

"Ten million transferred to a Swiss bank account in 24 hours. Since it involves a Guide the case is being left with us for now." Blair fished into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a hair-tie that he quickly used to gather his shoulder length, wavy hair into a tail at the back of his neck. Slipping on his reading glasses, he opened a folder across his knees and began reading while Jim navigated his way to the scene of the kidnapping.

"Ezra P. Standish. Sixteen. Moved to Cascade two years ago to attend advanced courses in Shielding and Empathy Control at Thornton." Blair paused to let out a surprised whistle. "Seems his last test scores put him at 115 for empathic response and 130 for shield integrity."

Jim grinned as he glanced over at his partner. "So, are the Sandburg High Scores in danger?" Ellison mentally winced as the question left his lips. Even though he'd been Bonded with Blair for almost a year he still had the occasional slip of the tongue. But his partner's constant, energetic and upbeat outlook on life made it so easy to forget that his had not been a happy awakening into the world of Sentinels and Guides. Even now, Blair treated Ellison's gaff as a shared joke.

Giving a small snort, Blair shook his head. "No way. If I had been tested at his age I'd have been way off the charts. Being a Dark Guide and all I mean." The smirk may not have been on his face but it was definitely in his voice. "Still, I'd guess he's pretty close to what my levels might have been if I had been a regular Guide. He's definitely Shaman material."

Giving a mental sigh of relief that he was sure his partner could feel, Ellison relaxed and focused once more on their newest case. "So how sure are we that this is a straight ransom snatch?"

"You mean the request for money might be a diversion when what the kidnappers are really after is an un-Bonded, Shaman class Guide?" Blair shook his head. "Standish is only sixteen. The average Guide's brain doesn't start producing the necessary chemical for Bonding until their early to mid twenties. Burton's theory was that a Guide needed to reach a certain level of maturity before taking on the responsibility of working with a Sentinel so …"

"Yeah, yeah. Been there done that, my t-shirt shrank in the wash." Jim smiled to take the sting out of his teasing words. He considered himself to be very lucky to have Bonded with Sandburg and would never say anything to intentionally hurt him. And while it was true that Blair's power as a Dark Guide made him the perfect match for Ellison's Dark Sentinel, it was the young man's warm and generous nature for which Jim was the most grateful.

"So was Standish taken directly from the campus?"

"No way. Security there is tighter than Hymalthan holy drums. It has to be. The families of those student Guides shell out enough money in one semester to pay the entire salary of Major Crimes. It looks like he left the campus alone using a very high tech white noise generator. There were two others found in his room."

Blair fell silent as he thought about Standish's education and how much it differed from his own. Thornton specialized in training Guides that scored above average on their skills tests. Similar institutions could be found for exceptional Sentinels as well. For run of the mill and less financially endowed young Guides and Sentinels there remained the government operated public training centers.

Of course none of that had been an option for Blair who had spent his childhood constantly on the move with his mother Naomi. While there was no doubt in his mind that everything she had done for him had been based on love and with the best of intentions; there was also no denying that she was almost solely to blame for three hellish years and a very near brush with death.

Naomi Sandburg distrusted all things governmental with a passion second only to her love for her one and only child. The fact that most Sentinel and Guide jobs were government funded was just an unfortunate fact of life. Sentinels excelled in lines of work that allowed them to use their enhanced senses for the good of the people; law enforcement, rescue, military, and security were a few of the more popular fields. And while yes, there were a few exceptions it just seemed that genetically, Sentinels preferred the high risk, very physical professions. And where the Sentinel goes...

Blair could honestly say he'd never imagined himself working with the police let alone in the Major Crimes division but then, he'd never imagined himself as a Dark Guide either. The rarest and strongest of all Guides and the most sought after, it had only been a matter of time before his path crossed with that of a strong Sentinel looking for a Bond. Maybe if Naomi had been a little more trusting of the system he might have been better prepared or at least known his options.

He'd just turned 16 when he began taking classes at Rainer, a prestigious college known for its excellent Anthropology courses as well as its advanced Guide programs. Unfortunately Blair was totally unaware of the growing strength of his own as yet untapped abilities and had completely ignored the free testing clinics or the various classes being offered to strong empaths. He'd remained blissfully ignorant of his destiny for five whole years until the day Alex Barnes; mad, bad and dangerously demented Dark Sentinel had arrived on campus looking for a Guide. Dark called to Dark, whether it was fully awakened or not. Alex had known what Blair was from the moment she smelled him and nothing as insubstantial as the law or Blair's personal wants or desires would get in her way.

Blair's natural shields began eroding after their first encounter thanks to Alex's not so subtle pushing. Two short weeks later he'd been desperate for help and turned to the only person that seemed strong enough to offer relief. Blair was lost and confused, newly awakened to a world he knew nothing about and Alex was impatient to claim her Guide and return to her mercenary way of life. At first he'd gone with her willingly, but while the two forces recognized their similarities, something crucial that was necessary for a true Bond was missing. Blair did his best to cope but as the days stretched into weeks he began to realize that something was desperately wrong. But by then it was too late.

It was several months before he'd finally managed to escape from Alex Barnes and her physical abuse; but her legacy of mental anguish continued for two more years and had very nearly driven Blair to suicide. Her repeated attempts at forcing a Bond had left him mentally scarred and Sentinel shy. As soon as he'd regained his freedom he'd thrown himself into studying and learning everything there was to know about Guides and Sentinels, but carefully and discreetly, so as to keep his own growing powers a secret. He learned what drugs were available to dampen empathic receptors in the brain. He practiced his meditation to the point he could safely control his heart rate and the amount of carbon dioxide he expelled. And he discovered a mixture of scents and spices that would effectively mask his unBonded, on-line, Dark Guide musk. For two years he lived, studied and taught at Rainer, essentially hiding in plain sight.

But the drugs manufactured to help average Guides were never meant for someone with Blair's abilities. Larger doses did little to shore up his failing barriers and the painful side effects became increasingly detrimental to his health. The medication kept him awake at night and caused ulcers to form in his mouth and stomach. His poor health was reflected in his sub par work at the university and he was given an ultimatum; shape up or ship out. In desperation he'd finally sought the help of a visiting Shaman named Incacha who had most certainly saved his life while at the same time saving the life of newly re-awakened Dark Sentinel James Ellison.

Of course it hadn't been a quick or easy fix. Their first arranged meeting had been a disaster. Years earlier, a young, unBonded James Ellison had locked his abilities away after a failed mission to Peru which had cost the lives of his entire squad. He was angry that the senses that had failed him then were once more trying to take control of his life just when he had found a place for himself in Cascade's Major Crimes. When Guide and Sentinel first met, Jim's anger at the situation, his physical size and military bearing only served to fuel Blair's fear of being abused by a Sentinel. Guide and Sentinel, two men longing for their independence yet desperately in need of each other for survival. Neither one willing to take the first step despite the fact they both felt a deep, almost spiritual attraction. Cordial greetings lead to forced pleasantries and stiff conversation. Within minutes Jim had started lashing out verbally and Blair gave as good as he got. They'd parted company before coming to blows with vague promises of meeting again in another lifetime. Ironically enough it was the return of Alex Barnes that had led to their second meeting and sealed their fate.

The last time Blair had seen Barnes she had been wounded by a museum security guard's bullet and lost in a deep Zone that he himself had instigated. Having her suddenly appear in his small office at Rainer was like a classic scene from a horror movie, 'Return of the Undead Dark Sentinel.' Sheer adrenalin fueled panic got him out the door and halfway across the campus before she caught him. If it had been a fair fight and Blair had eaten and slept in the previous 48 hours, he might have stood a chance. He did manage to actually land one blow before a roundhouse kick sent him crashing into the fountain. Even sick and dazed he would have managed to pull his face out of the water but two strong hands dug into his scalp and kept his head below the surface.

As consciousness began to fade, the dull roaring in Blair's head transformed to the enraged scream of a panther. Suddenly the encroaching darkness shattered in an explosion of blue light and the young Guide was shocked to find himself lying in a jungle clearing. A snarling, guttural cry jerked his attention to the tree line where two huge, predator cats fought with fang and claw. He should have been terrified or at least concerned but the emotion that filled him was... pride. He watched the black panther slash a deep furrow in the jaguar's side and silently cheered. A rumbling 'snort' of approval seemed to echo his sentiment and for the first time he noticed the large wolf sitting at his side.

'Spirit guides.' The revelation sent a spasm of shivers racing down his spine. Blair realized that he was in the spirit realm and the wolf was his guide. On an instinctual level he also knew that the panther was the guide for Ellison and the jaguar belonged to Barnes. He also knew that the fight he was witnessing was a spiritual reflection of actions taking place in the physical world so when he saw a bloody wound suddenly open on the panther's side without a blow from the jaguar; he knew Barnes had resorted to a weapon of some kind.

"Bitch! No way are you winning this fight!" Turning to his wolf, Blair pointed at the battling felines. "Well, what are you waiting for? Sick'er boy!"

But apparently the wolf had either more faith in the panther or simply more common sense because he remained seated by Blair's side. And when Blair tried to take matters into his own hands the spirit animal used just enough force to knock him down and keep him pinned to the ground. Distracted by his own struggles, Blair missed seeing the end of the fight but he did hear the crackling snap of vertebra that spelled the death of both the jaguar and Alex Barnes.

The next moment found Blair looking up into a pair of blue eyes surrounded by glossy, black fur. A deep, rumbling purr of satisfaction let Blair know that the panther was very pleased with itself. He smiled as whiskers tickled his face and he reached a hand up to stroke the animal's head. A jolt of energy coursed from his palm to his chest making him cry out in surprise. Suddenly his arm felt way too heavy and the blue glow of the jungle began rapidly fading. Blair looked around for his wolf guide but both it and the panther were gone. He opened his mouth to call out but found himself choking and gasping for breath.

The next time Blair opened his eyes he found himself laying on the ground next to the university fountain. A forest of legs surrounded him but it was a pair of pale blue eyes that caught and held his attention. He tried again to lift his arm and this time another hand was there to catch his. Pressing Blair's palm against his chest, Dark Sentinel James Ellison spoke the words that would change two lives forever.

"Claimed and marked, Guide."

Dark Guide Blair Sandburg smiled and in a hoarse whisper that only his Sentinel could hear, responded the only way possible. "Claimed and marked… Sentinel."

Of course there had been hurdles to overcome. Ellison and Sandburg both wound up at the hospital and while the Sentinel's injuries had been the most life threatening, Blair was the one that got the extended stay. Malnourished, dehydrated, and physically exhausted to the point of collapse; even without his near death in the fountain he would have wound up there anyway. Added to all of that was the cocktail mix of chemical dampeners that had gradually built up to almost toxic levels in his bloodstream. During their first few weeks together, Blair was not at his best to say the least. Jim didn't help matters any by being in maximum Blessed Protector mode twenty-four seven. Everyone around them breathed a sigh of relief when the Dark Guide was finally well enough to order his Sentinel to 'back off' and actually have the man obey.

While not working with Ellison in the Major Crimes division of law enforcement for Cascade, Blair continued to attend classes at Rainier University but this time his main area of focus was increasing his empathic controls and learning the skills of a Shaman. In fact, Rainier's most notable claim to fame was its unique Shaman curriculum. High-level Guides traveled from across the world to train with Shaman Elders; the oldest and most powerful level of Guide. It was an interesting and challenging field of study not only because of the fantastic mental powers involved but also because of the way the classes were organized. True Shaman Elders were rare and tended to travel with their Sentinels to wherever they were needed the most. So while there was always at least one at the university; it was unpredictable as to who that instructor might be or what topics they might choose to cover.

The current Shaman Elder on staff was a Japanese man by the name of Miyazaki. It seemed that most of his course revolved around meditation techniques, which the Guide could understand, and origami which was...interesting. And while Blair didn't quite follow the connection, he was certainly becoming an expert at making paper animals.

Blair's straying thoughts were abruptly pulled from the past by the sound of his partner's voice.

"I thought Thornton students had to be accompanied by a Bonded Sentinel bodyguard whenever they left campus." Jim made a sharp right turn and unconsciously reached out his arm to brace his Guide. By now Blair was used to such instinctively protective gestures from his Sentinel and continued with reading the information in the file.

"From what it says here Standish finished up his last class of the day at 4:30. He complained of a headache and told his dorm mother, Mary Collins that he was going to skip dinner and spend the evening in his room that is located on the second floor. Apparently Ms. Collins takes the title dorm 'mother' literally. She decided to take Ezra some dinner about 6:45, which was when she found his room empty with the window open and an emergency fire ladder hanging from the sill."

"Private room? Ladder standard fire safety equipment?"

"Yes to both. Security called in a couple of the campus Sentinels and they both verified that Ezra was the only one down the ladder and through the surrounding shrubs. They followed his trail to the nearest bus stop and lost it. Security narrowed down the time he left and figured out which bus he took from that point. The driver was interviewed and 'thinks' he remembers a teenager matching Ezra's description getting on but couldn't say at which stop he got off. The Sentinels were able to verify Ezra's presence by his scent."

"The bus route?"

"Downtown. Not one of the better routes."

"So let me get this straight; the kid leaves campus by himself and the next day a ransom note is delivered to his mother?"

"Ransom email actually. His mother is in England right now."

"This sounds more like a joke by a spoiled rich kid than a kidnapping. He's probably hiding out at a friend's house."

Blair shook his head as he continued reading the file on his lap. "Totally out of character. The only time he was ever in trouble was when he was caught playing poker with some campus handymen."

"Was he winning?"

"What?" Blair looked at his partner in confusion.

"Was he winning at poker? Does he have a gambling problem?"

"You're thinking he owes someone a lot of money and staged the kidnapping? No way man, not ten mil. Not playing against janitors and grounds keepers. And why the Swiss bank account?"

"Smoke screen."

"Jim, get real! The kid is going to be a Shaman some day. He …"

Blair was interrupted by the ring of his cell phone. "Hello? Hey Simon… What?"

As soon as Jim heard the name of his captain he turned up his hearing so that he could listen to both sides of the conversation.

"I said forget the kidnapping case. You and Jim head over to the Carson Warehouse on twenty-eight. We just got a report that a gun bust went bad and there are at least three Sentinel-Guide pairs down."

"Three? Who…?" Blair held the phone tight to his ear with his left hand and braced himself against the dashboard with his right as Jim made a very illegal u-turn in the middle of the road. He scowled at the scattered papers covering his feet but wisely decided to wait before attempting to gather them up.

"Taylor and Grayson were on loan from SWAT. They're confirmed down. The others are from the Denver ATF office that followed some suspects here for a big buy."

Jim spoke up as he dodged through traffic. "That would be Sentinels Wilmington and Sanchez."

Blair frowned at his partner. "How come you know their names?"

"Because I'm the Senior Sentinel Prime for Cascade. They had to check in with me when they arrived."

"And you didn't bother telling me? I am the Senior Guide Prime for Cascade."

"Guides don't have a natural instinct to fight over territory. Look, I meant to tell you but…"

"Sandburg, you and Ellison can discuss Sentinel social etiquette later." Captain Banks' annoyed sounding voice drew the pair's attention back to the phone. "The only information we have from the scene is that the Sentinels covered their ears right before they fell and the Guides went down at almost the same instant. When the regular force moved in there were shots fired. I don't have a report of any casualties among the regulars but not all the suspects were apprehended. You and Jim take care of the Sentinels and find out why they went down. I'll send Hart and Carter to help round up the gun runners when you give the all clear."

"Right." Blair flipped his phone closed and shoved it back into his pocket. He could feel the Dark Guide trying to push forward as his temper flared but he gritted his teeth and maintained his control. "I don't suppose you bothered to find out the names of their Guides while you were busy playing Alpha Male?"

Ellison heard and felt the energy of the Dark Guide and did his best to rein in his own temper knowing it could only make a touchy situation worse. "Buck Wilmington is paired up with a kid named John Dunne and Josiah Sanchez is teamed with a field medic named Nathan Jackson. All of them are Primes. Their plane arrived late so they barely had time to make it to the meeting. They planned to drop by the precinct after the bust to pay their respects. I meant to tell you but forgot." The last was fairly growled as Ellison felt his own Dark persona trying to emerge. "Enhanced senses do not mean a perfect memory."

Whatever comment Blair might have made in response was lost in a squeal of tires as Jim suddenly slammed on his brakes causing the truck to fishtail in the middle of the deserted warehouse street. Covering his ears with his hands, Ellison hunched over the steering wheel.

"Subsonic vibrations! There must be a wave generator set up in the warehouse." Jim gasped and threw his head back. "That might have taken down Taylor and the others."

Blair didn't wait around. He knew his Sentinel couldn't go any closer because there was no way he could dial his sense of hearing down to block a subsonic pulse. Unbuckling his seat belt, Blair fairly leaped from the cab of the truck. "Looks like it's your turn to stay in the truck and call it in man."

"Sandburg! Damn it!" Ellison cursed as his grasping fingers just missed his Guide's arm. The vibrations were pounding in his head making it hard to think straight, let alone come up with an argument his partner would listen to. "Be careful Chief! Remember the Guides went down too! And the suspects are armed!"

"Got it! Move the truck back down the street until you're out of range. I'll call you when we have the generator shut down."

"Right." Ellison forced his hands back to the steering wheel and floored the gas pedal. With a squeal of tires he made it to the end of the block where he was once more out of range of the generator. While subsonic generators were crippling to Sentinels, unlike normal sound waves that gradually faded out, the subsonic waves had a definite, finite range. It galled Ellison that he would have to simply sit in the truck while his partner faced danger alone. Now they knew what had paralyzed the Sentinels but what about the Guides? Was the danger still present and was Blair going to be effected?


	4. Chapter 4

Ezra groaned as he slowly became aware of his body being tugged across the rough, concrete floor. He barely managed to lift his chin from where it rested on his chest and blinking his vision clear, he wasn't sure it had been worth the effort. Walls of wooden crates blocked his view to both his right and left and formed a dim, narrow corridor past his feet. As he became more aware of his surroundings he realized the harsh, panting breaths he'd been hearing were not his own but belonged to whoever was slowly dragging his aching body. And judging by the erratic breathing and jerky pace, the 'whoever' was having a very hard time of it.

Tilting his head back even further, Ezra was both surprised and strangely relieved to see the same face that had been peering through his prison window when he'd first woken up. Guide instinct caused him to reach for the young Sentinel's mind even as his right hand lifted to touch a dirt covered cheek.

*Fear. Confusion. Worry.*

Startled blue eyes looked down to meet Ezra's searching green and for a moment both boys forgot their surroundings. Ezra licked his lips and concentrated on calming the chaos he felt radiating from the boy holding his shoulders off the ground. The Sentinel's eyes grew even wider as he became aware of the mental intrusion and Ezra felt slender fingers dig a little deeper under his arms. Gentling his touch, the Guide in training stopped trying to force peace and simply strove for comfort. The emotional exchange lasted no more than a minute and left both boys feeling better mentally but even further drained physically. The young Sentinel collapsed abruptly to land heavily on his butt with Ezra sprawled across his lap.

Ezra was the first to recover as greater alertness brought an urgent reminder of unfinished business. Looking up into the face of his rescuer, he put as much sincerity into his voice as he could possibly muster.

"I have really got to pee."

Blue eyes blinked and then pale lips twitched into the barest hint of a smile. "Why didn't you think of that before you left home?"

The voice was rough and the words softly spoken with an interesting drawl. The accent was similar to Ezra's Georgian lilt but slightly broader.

"Texas?"

"Been a while but yeah, originally."

"How did you...no. Forget that. First things first. Help me up please...ah...what is your name?

"Vin. What's yours?"

"Ezra Standish." Ezra groaned, as with a push from Vin he was able to sit up right. "Oh Lord! Look at me! I am covered in vomit and ...and..." He stared at the strange rust colored stains on the front of his shirt and suddenly had to fight a new urge to throw up. "Is this...what I think it is?" Ezra pulled the shirt away from his skin and was a mere second from pulling it completely off when a very distinctive growl caught his attention. Turning his head, he saw Vin's face contorted with anger.

"He was going to shoot you." Vin's fingers tightened on Ezra's shoulders and his blue eyes flashed. "I had to... I...I couldn't let him..."

Ezra swallowed the lump in his throat as he placed a hand over Vin's. "Thank you." What he couldn't convey with mere words he projected to the Sentinel that had saved his life. 'Saved. My. Life. Oh lord! He's a Sentinel and he saved my life. Is this what they mean by Blessed Protector? But... that only happens between Bonded...'

"No!" A rush of adrenalin gave Standish the strength to pull free of Vin's hands and actually scramble to his feet. He braced himself against a stack of crates and stared in horror at the unBonded Sentinel sitting before him. But was he still unBonded? Licking his lips nervously, Ezra began examining his own feelings and responses to his young rescuer. He was alarmed to realize that he could not close off the connection between their minds. The damn box wouldn't close no matter how hard he pushed on the lid.

Vin blinked at the sudden rejection and struggled to think past the overwhelming tide of emotions that kept him seated on the floor. He clearly remembered his nightlong vigil huddled in the cold alley and the soothing drumbeat that had kept him focused and alert. When the rhythm had changed he'd felt the need to move closer and actually see the source of the noise in his head. He had a vague recollection of climbing a stack of crates to peer through a dirty window but after that things became very fuzzy. There was another clear moment when he'd suddenly found himself flat on his back amidst a pile of broken slats and for a second he'd panicked and begun scrambling to escape before someone came to investigate. His movements had slowed as a…a feeling of safety had washed over him and with it the sound was back in his head only this time with an urgency that had quickened his breath and drawn his muscles tight. And he'd heard voices; two that made him grit his teeth in anger and one that set him looking desperately for the nearest entrance.

And then he'd had the nightmare. At least that was what it felt like now. There was a nightmare feel to the memories that allowed him to see them and yet not be a part of them. The metal pipe was picked up from the ground in a hand that was his but he couldn't feel the metal pressed against his palm. And he could see the lips of the man with the gun moving but he couldn't hear the words. He focused on the hand holding the gun and could pick out the tiniest veins pulsing beneath the thin layer of flesh. On the ground lay an animal, an injured fox; its green eyes glassy as its paws scrabbled weakly against the dirty concrete. Vin knew that the urgent, thumping beats in his head were somehow coming from that fox and that he had to protect the injured animal no matter what.

As his nightmare continued, the hand and the lead pipe transformed into the paw of a large predator while his whole body became lighter, stronger, faster and his movements purely instinctive. An upward strike directed the bullet away from its target and a second blow to the man's forehead sent fragments of bone deep into his brain while a gush of blood sprayed from his nose. There was another possible threat and it was dealt with in a similar fashion but this time with a strike from behind. And then the dream ended as suddenly as it had begun. Vin found himself gasping for breath as the pipe dropped from his stinging palm. Staggering back to where he'd seen the injured animal, he found instead a teenager lying unconscious in a puddle of vomit. Blood covered his shirt but somehow Vin knew that none of it belonged to him. Crouching down next to the boy he was suddenly overcome with an urgent need to find shelter; a secluded spot and one that could be easily defended.

Vin had been focused on accomplishing that task when Ezra had woken up and touched him on the cheek. He'd felt again that wave of calmness and peace but this time he was more alert and instinctively rejected the forced emotions. He was rewarded immediately as a gentle warmth seemed to brush against his mind and suffuse the very marrow of his bones. For one brief moment Vin had actually felt happy. But something had changed suddenly and now Ezra was staring at him with a look of fear in his eyes and the thumping in his head was getting faster and louder.

"Stop it." Vin curled forward with a moan and dug his fingers into his scalp. "It hurts."

"What? Stop what?" Ezra froze in place as he tried to make sense of Vin's words.

"That…sound…that thumping. It's in my head. It's you. It has to be."

"Thumping? I don't…Oh gawd." Ezra gasped and slowly sank to his knees. "It's true. You're listening to my heartbeat. You… we…"

 ****HATE ANGER HATE ANGER****

The pain was incredible and devastating. Ezra screamed as a white-hot, searing bolt of lightening seemed to strike at the very center of his brain. The intense current shot down his spine and his body jerked once before dropping limply to the ground. Vin's scream followed a split second behind Ezra's but the young Sentinel did not lose consciousness. Staggering to his feet with his hands pressed uselessly against his assaulted ears, Vin threw his body down the aisle of crates in a desperate attempt to escape the agonizing noise. At the end of the row he fell to the side and landed in a pile of loose packing material which cascaded down to cover his unconscious body.


	5. Chapter 5

"Where the hell are the isolation vans? Don't give me a sob story about traffic delays, tell the drivers to use the sidewalks if they have to. I need those units now!"

At 25 years of age, Bob Crenshaw might have been just a regular police officer but he had made it a point of learning everything he could about Sentinels and Guides. Even senior officers deferred to him when it came to crime scene judgment calls involving Sentinels. He didn't know it, but papers where being processed that would create a special title to match his job skills. Of course there would be a pay increase to go along with the new job description but there was no doubt that Crenshaw would earn every penny of it. Especially if he had many more cases like this one.

"Come in Marky. What's the status on the Denver ATF teams? Copy that. No! Don't move them! We don't know what hit them but any contact may make it worse. Just drop the blankets on them, make sure they're breathing then leave them alone until the vans get here."

Bob ran the fingers of his left hand through his short blond hair while his right hand clutched desperately at the mike of his radio as he fought the urge to throw it down on the ground and stomp it. How did this happen? What could possible take out three Sentinels and their Guides all at the same time? And one pair almost a whole block away from the others? 'God! What I wouldn't give to have Ellison and ….'

"Sandburg!" Bob shouted with relief as he saw the answer to his prayers running towards him.

For Blair, it was something of a relief as well to hear the carrying voice of officer Crenshaw just before he turned the corner of 28th street. Too many times injuries to Guides and Sentinels were actually made worse by the ignorance of bystanders with the best of intentions.

"Bob, tell all units to look for a subsonic wave generator." Blair held his hands up to frame a rectangle about the width of his chest. "It will look something like the center speaker for a surround sound system. It'll need a power supply so there should be a cord running from it to an outlet or generator. They won't hear anything but depending on the shielding the unit itself may be vibrating. Have them kill the power to it as soon as they find it."

Crenshaw had no problem with taking orders from the Senior Guide Prime and quickly relayed the information and instructions to all the officers and crime scene agents on sight. While he gave the instructions, Blair hurried over to the first blanket draped body lying in the shadow of a dumpster. He recognized Sentinel Prime Taylor immediately and guessed that the sneaker covered feet he saw sticking out from around the end of the metal bin belonged to his Guide Prime, David Grayson.

Blair finished checking the pulse and pupil response of Taylor and quickly moved to David just as Bob finished talking to his men. "Tell me exactly what you saw."

"Not much to tell. Taylor and Grayson were stationed here for the bust. Taylor was listening in and Grayson was providing his anchorage as usual. I was standing further down the sidewalk and nothing was really happening when suddenly they both yelled at the same time and hit the ground."

"At the same time? The exact same time?" Blair did not reach for David but sat on his heels beside the unconscious guide. He didn't dare touch the young man until he had some idea of what he was facing.

"Uh, I think maybe Grayson might have yelled first. Maybe. But no more than a fraction of a second."

Blair rubbed his hands on his thighs and took a deep breath. He knew that the Sentinels would have been hurt by the wave generator but just like Ellison, they should have simply been in pain, not rendered unconscious. He thought the scenario through carefully. Sentinel and Guide would have been closely linked. Normal positioning for a working pair was to have the Sentinel in front of the Guide with the Guide's hand resting on the Sentinel's shoulder. Physical contact with a Guide was vital in anchoring a Sentinel when he extended one or more of his senses. David would not only be providing a physical contact for Taylor, he would also have been using their Bond to monitor his Sentinel's stability and well-being. There might have been some backlash of pain when the wave generator was turned on but not enough to knock David out and keep him out.

Chewing on his bottom lip, Blair tried the problem from a different angle. What if the Guide had been attacked first and the fallout from him had hit Taylor at exactly the same time as the generator was switched on? The Sentinel would be hit by a mental blow from his Guide, a physical blow to his sense of hearing and another mental strike from his Guide as his own pain was fed back to him by his guide. Three strikes to the Sentinel, two strikes to the Guide. But what kind of weapon could affect a Guide? Long-range… multi targets… only Guides …

Blair gasped as he suddenly came up with a possible answer. "Oh hell. A Screamer."

"A what?" Bob looked around in confusion but saw nothing threatening.

"An empathic Screamer." Blair waved his hand toward his head as he explained. "Guides have extremely high levels of empathy which is why they have to use mental shields twenty-four seven. People are constantly putting out mental waves of emotion without any kind of control. Most of the time it is low level, barely noticeable and easy to block. When someone gets very emotional, excited, angry, scared; the output increases and becomes much more intense. Harder to block out. But none of this emotional output is controllable by the individual, it just happens."

Crenshaw was an intelligent man and saw where Blair was heading. "A Screamer can control his output?"

"Not just control; magnify and project. And only Guides or people with high levels of empathy would be affected. Think of a Screamer as a kind of smart bomb. When it goes off it takes down only very specific targets."

"So this Screamer is attacking the Guides?"

"Not right now. It takes a lot of energy to attack mentally, especially over a general area. The Screamer would have sent out one mental blast that would have hit the three Guides. That plus the subsonic waves hitting the Sentinels at the same time would have created a viscous cycle of backlash energy in their Bonds."

"Knocking them out."

"Right. But with the Screamer gone and generator turned off they should be OK. Well, the Sentinels should be fine. They'll probably wake up with killer headaches and be in full Blessed Protector mode. Probably a level 10." Blair couldn't help the slight smile as he saw Crenshaw's face pale. "Yeah, I pity the hospital staff. The Guides will probably have sore heads as well and they definitely won't have any shields left. Those isolation vans you requested will be very useful."

"Sooo, we don't need to do anything for them?" Bob looked dubiously at the two still forms but Blair was quick to reassure him.

"No more than what you've already done. Get them loaded as soon as the vans get here, keep them in the recovery position and they should wake up on their own."

"Great. What about…?" Crenshaw paused as a call came in over his radio. "Yeah Marky, what've you got?" Bob looked up and grinned at Blair. "They found the generator and pulled the plug on it."

"Yes!" Blair jumped to his feet but just as he reached for his cell phone, a familiar battered truck skidded around the corner followed closely by three neon yellow vans. "And the cavalry has arrived."

The truck was moving again before Blair had a chance to even close his door. "Were you listening or did you stay in range of the generator?"

"Yes. So Taylor and the others will be fine?"

"Yeah. They'll all have headaches and the Sentinels will wake up in full BP mode but Dr. Hanson will be on hand to help the hospital staff deal with them."

Ellison nodded as he parked his truck behind a police cruiser. "It'll be even worse for the Denver pairs being away from their home territory. Should we call Hanson and give her a heads up?"

"I think she'll figure it out pretty quick." Blair climbed out of the truck and fell in step behind his Sentinel as they entered in the warehouse. "Besides, Eric was complaining about being bored lately."

"Well, this should teach him to look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Speaking of horses..." Blair gestured to their right where a large black stallion stood pawing the ground. The animal was beautiful but slightly translucent even to the vision of a Senior Guide Prime. The regular police officers working the scene walked through the spirit guide without even noticing it.

Ellison paused and did a quick Sentinel sweep of the warehouse. He quickly noted each of the regulars and then placed the downed Sentinels and their Guides. There was one man present who drew his attention and actually caused the Dark Sentinel to sit up and take notice. He didn't realize that he was growling until he felt Blair's hand on his shoulder.

"Easy big guy. I feel him too. I think the pissed off horse is his."

"Think I'll go introduce myself and find out what he's doing in my territory. When Judge Travis asked permission to send in his ATF Sentinels he didn't mention an unBonded Prime."

"Prime? Are you sure? He doesn't feel that strong." Blair studied the strange Sentinel as they drew closer. The man was lean but obviously well muscled. His blond hair was neatly trimmed but slightly mussed. There was a bruise on his right cheek and his bottom lip had a small split. Suddenly the man jerked his head in their direction and pale green eyes locked on Blair. The Guide stumbled to halt at the look of pure hatred directed at him personally.

Ellison stepped in front of his Guide, another growl rumbling deep in his throat. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Chris Larabee forced his gaze from the young, long-haired Guide long enough to examine the Senior Sentinel Prime obviously defending his territory. "Captain Larabee, Denver ATF. Back off Sentinel, you've got nothing I need... or want." Movement caught his eyes and he saw white uniformed medics approaching with two gurneys. Dismissing the Senior pair without a second glance he began supervising the care of his men. He didn't have time for the posturing or blandishments always associated with Sentinel Clans and territories.

Chris watched as the first team of medics parked their gurney next to Sentinel Prime Buck Wilmington and his Guide Prime JD Dunne. He felt a small easing of his worry as he noted the specially designed gurney. More like a slightly over sized twin bed, it was used exclusively for moving Bonded pairs. The men carefully lifted the unconscious Sentinel first and placed him on his back to one side of the mattress. Next they lifted the smaller Guide and placed him face down so that he was laying half on the gurney and half on his Sentinel. Straps went around both men holding them securely in place.

Sentinel Prime Josiah Sanchez and his Guide Prime Nathan Jackson were placed in similar positions with the exception that both were tall, well muscled men. The medics were sweating and panting by the time they got the unresponsive bodies strapped into place on the overloaded gurney.

Blair looked from his tense partner to the ATF captain who was very obviously ignoring not only them but also the spirit guide that was growing more and more agitated. Deciding the situation called for a firm hand, he let the Dark Guide emerge.

Dark called to Dark and Jim's nostrils flared as he noted with approval the change in his partner's scent. The Dark Guide patted his Sentinel's arm as he stalked past to confront their uninvited guest. Normally this would have been Ellison's job but there was a mystery here that called for more than brawn.

Chris tensed as the Guide drew closer. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't deny the pull or the gut reaction that made his heart race. He caught himself opening his mouth to better scent the air and quickly clenched his teeth hard enough to chip enamel. 'No damn it! It's been three years; I'll kill myself first before I enter that world again.'

"Larabee." Blair placed himself directly in front of the ATF Captain intending to get some answers but Chris spoke first.

"Where are my men being taken?"

"Cascade General. It has a Sentinel/Guide wing staffed with Bonded doctors. They'll be well taken care of."

"Good. Then I'll finish wrapping things up here and go join them." Chris stepped back to put an end to the unwanted conversation but the Dark Guide was having none of it. In a voice trained specifically for dealing with stubborn Sentinels, Blair began his questioning.

"How long have you been off-line? What happened to your Guide?"

"None of your damn business!" Larabee recognized the power of the Guide's Voice and stubbornly fought against it.

"You're in my territory ignoring a pissed off spirit guide; I think that makes it my business."

Chris' eyes darted once to the animal in question and was irritated to see it slightly more distinct. "I don't need this. Not now; not ever again."

"I don't care what you need or want. It's trying to tell you something important so..."

"Where the hell was it three years ago when my wife and child were killed in a car bomb meant for me?! You tell me that Guide!"

Everyone in the warehouse froze and the silence was almost tangible. Even those not close enough to actually hear the heated exchange picked up on the wary stances of the Cascade Senior Primes. Sure that they were about to see a fight between two Sentinels, many spectators hurriedly backed away to be clear of the danger Zone.

But Ellison remained positioned behind Blair, his arms crossed over his chest; apparently not the least bit concerned with the fact that a Sentinel outside of his clan was yelling at his Guide. Fact was he knew through his mental connection with his partner that the Dark Guide had things well under control and wanted to handle the situation himself. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't ready to step in and rip Larabee apart if he so much as touched one curly hair on Sandburg's head.

Chris held the gaze of the silent Guide for a long moment and then with a growl of annoyance he finally turned away.

Blair gave him a moment to regain his composer before asking again, "What happened to your Guide?"

"I told you, she was killed in an explosion meant for me."

"You married your Guide?"

"She was my wife first! We married right after high school. We went on line together. Our Bond...our Bond was perfect."

Jim reached out and rested his hands on Blair's shoulders. He knew his partner would be picking up Larabee's pain and grief and wanted to give his Guide whatever comfort and support he needed.

Blair acknowledged the gesture and showed his gratitude by placing his hands on top of his Sentinel's.

"And you had a son?"

Rubbing his face with his hands, Chris vented his frustration with a muttered curse about the questionable parentage of pushy Dark Guides before answering. "Yeah. His name was Adam. He was seven when..." Chris paused and cleared his throat before continuing. "Sarah had her own car but it needed some work done on the engine. After she picked Adam up from school she came to my office to swap for my truck. She was a block away when ...the bomb went off. I...I was listening... to her and Adam talking about pizza when..."

Jim's fingers dug into Blair's shoulders as he clearly imagined what that must have been like. To be listening to the voices of the two most important people in your life and to have them suddenly silenced forever. God. How had Larabee survived it?

"Why are you still alive?" Obviously the Dark Guide was wondering the same thing.

"I was unconscious for the next three days and a vegetable for a couple of weeks after that. Then one morning I woke up and the first thought in my head was to find the person responsible. At that moment I was too mad to die. I wanted revenge more than I wanted death. At first I still had my senses but I had to shut them off; I couldn't have continued living in my house otherwise. It was like Sarah and Adam were still there, just out of sight. The first time I Zoned it was on a strand of Sarah's hair. Luckily Buck was there to pull me back. But the next day I went into Adam's room and Zoned on the fur of his favorite stuffed toy. It became an almost daily occurrence. I couldn't function like that and I had to do my job and find their killer."

"But that wasn't your job; you're ATF."

"I took a medical leave of absence. I was a Sentinel Prime that had just lost his Guide, wife and only child. No one argued with me."

Blair snorted and shrugged free of his partner's too tight hold to move slightly closer to Larabee so that he could lower his voice. "And did you catch him?"

"I found the one that planted the bomb." Larabee's satisfied grin was chilling. "He had an ... accident. But not before he told me that someone had hired him to do the job. He couldn't give me a name but that person is why I'm still alive. I can't die until I find their killer. But I'm not going back on line and there's nothing you or that damn horse can do about it."

Once it became clear that there was not going to be a fight, the police and investigators returned to their tasks with only an occasional glance in the direction of Cascade's Senior Bonded pair. That had been Blair's goal when he had stepped closer to Larabee and relaxed his stance. He could sympathize with the Sentinel and the Dark half of him actually approved of the bomber's fate but he was not budging one inch on the issue of the spirit guide.

"Look, I'm not asking you to come back on line and I'm still in the beginner's stage myself when it comes to spirit guides so I can't answer for three years ago. What I do know is that right now it needs to show you something that it thinks is important enough to make its presence known to Jim and I as well as you. Just follow it while we follow you."

It sounded logical but Chris still hesitated, reluctant to take even the smallest step back into the world of Sentinels and Guides. "Since you can see it why doesn't it just show you and leave me the hell alone?"

"Believe me man, I'd tell you if I knew. But what I do know is he is not going away until he's satisfied and neither am I."

"Of the two of them you're probably safer with the horse." Jim couldn't resist putting in his two cents worth even if it did earn him an elbow in the gut.

Chris drew in a deep lungful of air through his nose and held it while he ran his fingers through his hair. Expelling his breath out in a sharp gust of resignation he shook his head. "Damn it, alright. I'll follow the damn mule." Larabee turned to the spirit guide as he spoke and pointed his finger at it accusingly. "But just this once and that's it. No enhanced senses and no more Guides. You got that?"

The black horse stretched its long neck out and snapped its teeth at the stabbing digit. Even knowing it was just a vision; Chris couldn't stop the instinctive jerk of his arm.

"Great." Blair rubbed his hands together in satisfaction and allowed the Dark persona to slip away. "The sooner we get this out of the way, the sooner you can check on your men."

Chris just glared silently as he stalked after the stallion that was quickly making its way out of the warehouse and down the street. Ellison followed a few feet behind the ATF officer with Blair a step behind him. They passed two other warehouses before the spirit guide turned and led them down a narrow, trash cluttered alley. At the end was yet another warehouse, smaller than the others and in much worse shape.

Jim searched ahead with his hearing and picked up a single, human heartbeat. "Slow up Larabee, there's someone in there."

Chris acknowledged the warning by pulling out his gun and moving closer to a wall while still following his spirit guide.

"Maybe it's one of the runners from our bust."

Ellison felt his partner's hand on his arm and used the connection to ground himself while he turned up his hearing. "I don't think so. This person's unconscious. And...there's a second heartbeat, very faint and erratic. Chief, you'd better call us an ambulance. I can also smell a lot of blood."

'Great. Just great. First our contact moves his meeting from Denver to Washington, then it turns out to be a set up which means a possible leak. My men are in the hospital and this stupid horse wants me to do a rescue.' Chris paused and looked over his shoulder at the Senior pair. "This is your territory. Why aren't your spirits leading this search?"

Jim silently shook his head as he continued to focus on the information he was gathering with his senses. Blair closed his phone and spoke for both of them. "Whoever is in there must be important to you for some reason. Maybe it's someone you need to meet or talk to. We won't know until we go in."

"You're staying out here Chief."

"No way man! Don't even think about pulling rank with me. Just because I'm a Guide..."

Jim placed a hand over his partner's mouth just long enough to get a word in. "Someone needs to wait at the end of the alley for the paramedics. Once they get here you can bring them in."

Blair felt his cheeks warm slightly in embarrassment and avoided looking to see what Larabee thought of their brief exchange. "Oh. Yeah. OK, I can do that."

"The door is just up ahead. I'll be listening for you when you get back."

"Right. Be careful."

Ellison watched as Blair headed back down the alley and then turned to the impatiently waiting ATF captain. "Problem?"

"Dozens. And the sooner we get this one taken care of the sooner I can start on the next."


	6. Chapter 6

Larabee lead the way into the dimly lit warehouse. The bodies of two men were lying in an almost direct line from the door. Chris stood to the side while the Senior Sentinel examined the scene.

"These two were killed by someone using that pipe. This one had a gun drawn. It's been fired once. There was someone on the floor here, sick or injured. Maybe both. The pipe welder killed the two men and then dragged the third off towards those stacks of crates."

"Was one of them shot? Is that why his heartbeat is off?"

Ellison shook his head. "No blood trail. I think one of them is just sick. Now that we're inside I can make out his breathing. Doesn't sound good."

"Well the damn horse is still waiting so I guess it's one of those two I'm supposed to find."

"Or both."

With a muttered threat of gelding, Chris motioned for the much calmer spirit guide to lead the way. He was dismayed to see that the animal was now very solid looking and even appeared to be affecting dust particles in the air. "Just as soon as I make sure my men are alright I'm going to crawl into a bottle of Daniels and not come out until I'm back home."

"Might have a problem with the flight."

"They can check me in as carry on luggage."

"Stuff you in the overhead compartment?"

"About the same as coach."

The banter ended as the two men came to a corridor between the pallets of crates. Ellison's eyes confirmed what his ears had already reported.

"Well, here's number one. Victim or killer?"

"From the smell I'd say he was the one that threw up back there and was dragged here. Who did the dragging though..."

Chris knelt beside the still figure. "Shit. It's just a kid."

"Not just any kid. Now I know why your spirit guide was so interested." Ellison concentrated to focus his sense of smell past the sour odor of vomit and the metallic bitterness of blood. "He's a Guide. Probably our missing student Ezra Standish."

"Missing student?" Larabee stood up and made room for the Senior Sentinel, knowing that he was better qualified to check for injuries.

"Yeah. Looks as if he left school grounds on his own and then ran into trouble. Those two out front may be the kidnappers. We were just starting to work the case when the call came through about your bust."

"Well, at least some good came out of that fiasco; you got the kid back safe and sound."

Jim frowned as he carefully scanned the unconscious Guide. "Safe, but maybe not completely sound."

"He's hurt?"

"Physically nothing more than some bruises and a small cut to one knee. Mentally..." Ellison looked up as he heard the welcome sound of his partner's approach. "Sandburg! First aisle on your right!"

"I hear you man! Be right there!"

"What did you start to say about mentally?"

The Senior Sentinel stood up and shook his head in confusion. "I'll wait for Blair to confirm it but he smells like a Guide in the first stages of Bonding."

"That's not possible. He's too young." Chris looked down at the boy and frowned. "Besides, there's no Sentinel around here."

"You're forgetting the other heartbeat. And your nag still has issues."

"Nag, that's a good name for it." Captain Larabee turned and walked toward the impatiently waiting horse. As he came to a huge pile of packing straw he breathed a deep sigh of relief as the spirit guide finally faded from sight. "Well, what now?"

"We do a little digging." Jim pointed to a spot to Chris' left. "I think we're going to find our killer and our missing Sentinel over there."

"Jim! That kid matches the description of Ezra Standish! And his shields are fried! He may actually need an empathic suppressant."

"No drugs Chief. It'll interfere with the Bonding."

Blair's mouth dropped open as he stared in shock at his partner's back. "Bonding? No way man, he's only 16. And what are you looking for in there?"

"Use your empathy and you tell me." Larabee shifted to one side to reveal the pale and dirty face of another teenager.

Crouching down, the Senior Guide lightly placed his right hand on the boy's forehead. "I'm picking up some serious trauma here. If I didn't know better..."

"Spit it out Chief, I think I already know what you're going to say."

"Jim, I think he's a Sentinel. No, I mean he is a Sentinel but I think he's fully on line and...and starting to Bond. But that's..."

"Not possible. Yeah, so I've been told."

"Well, that's all for me." Chris Larabee held his hands up, palm out as he stepped away from the two Seniors and their newest clan member. "You two can handle it from here while I go see about rescuing your hospital staff from my men."

"Wait a minute!" Blair jumped to his feet and followed the retreating ATF officer. "You can't just leave. It was your spirit guide that brought us here and we still don't know why."

"Look around Guide; the horse is gone and with it my reason for being here. I'm offline and I intend to stay that way. They're in your territory so that makes them your problem."

Blair was about to argue further when one of the medics rushed up. "Senior Guide Prime? We've got a problem sir."

"See?" Chris' smug look was only slightly quelled by Ellison's disapproving glare.

Jim motioned for the medic to take over with the second teenager while he followed his partner back to where Standish had been loaded on a gurney. The boy was moaning and struggling against the straps holding him in place. When Blair tried to connect with his mind the teenager became even more agitated.

"This is not good Jim. He's got to have either chemical dampeners or outside shielding until he can get his own barriers back up. Otherwise he's going to overload and start cascading."

"What about that buddy-Bonding thing you were mentioning the other day?"

"Not an option. It takes practice to use another Guide's shields and both parties have to be conscious."

Chris felt a tightness in his gut as he listened to the Dark Guide's verdict. 'Damn it! I will not get involved! This is their territory, it's their problem.' With his fists knotted at his sides, he watched silently as the medics were directed to bring the young Sentinel closer. An oxygen mask had been placed over his mouth and nose and an I.V. line was started as soon as he was settled next to the Guide. As much as it bothered Chris to hear the stressed moans of Standish, he found the utter silence of the unnamed Sentinel even more disturbing. He found himself almost wishing for enhanced hearing to verify for himself the beat of the boy's heart.

"Anything else we can try?" Ellison was also affected by the plight of the two boys and couldn't contain the growl behind the question. He hated the thought of losing the boys and being so completely helpless to prevent it. _'What's the use in being a Senior Sentinel Prime if I can't protect my own?'_

Blair frowned as he concentrated on the mental vibes he was picking up from the unconscious Guide and Sentinel. "It's really weird. There's definitely a connection...but it's stronger for the Sentinel. It's almost like...they're compatible but Standish is rejecting the Bond."

"Can you blame him?" The medic's derisive comment drew three angry glares. Taking a step back from the hostility, he tried to justify his comment. "Well look at him! It's obvious he's been living on the streets. God only knows how many drugs he's taken or what disease he's carrying. What Guide in their right mind would want to Bon...eerch!"

"Did we ask for your opinion? Do we look like we give a fuck what you think?" Larabee's hand tightened on the outspoken man's neck eliciting a strangled squeak of protest.

"Your pardon Sentinels, Guide. Jay is new on the team and he hasn't fully completed the training course." The other medic apologized for his partner even though he silently agreed with his opinion. Wisely he kept that thought to himself as he tried to placate the angry clan leaders. "He meant no disrespect."

"Yeah, well why don't you and the rookie go wait at the end of the aisle? Well call you when we're ready to transport."

"Sure. We can do that. If you'll just...ah... let go of his throat?"

Blair ducked his head to hide the grin he couldn't stop. _'Got to give Larabee credit, the man knows how to act the bad ass. Nice to know it is mostly an act. I can feel that he's really bothered by this. Hell! I'm really bothered by this.'_ The Dark Guide chewed on his bottom lip as he studied the unconscious pair. _'Why? Why is Standish rejecting his Sentinel?'_

Sandburg looked up at his partner. "We've got to stabilize the Guide. The Sentinel has a tenuous link that should hold the Fincham Syndrome at bay long enough to get this straightened out, provided we don't lose his chosen partner."

"You have to take into account the Sentinel's physical health. I can hear congestion in his lungs; he's got a fever of 103, he's half starved and definitely dehydrated. As much as I hate to admit it, that damn medic may have been right. And for all we know, he might have been working with the kidnappers."

"So what are you saying man? We save Standish and let the Sentinel go? You were the one that said no drugs."

Ellison shrugged his shoulders. "That was before I thought it through. Standish is the legal heir of Walter Hampton. I'm sure his mother would not be pleased to hear that her son and a potential future Shaman was forced to Bond with a street rat. If he wants out of the Bond we should help him. I'll tell the medics to administer a dampener..."

"Fuck that!" Chris Larabee growled as he shoved the Senior Sentinel back. "You think the Guide has more of a right to live because his parents are rich?"

"You still here Denver? I thought you were leaving to check on your team?" The Senior Sentinel made a show of straightening his shirt as he spoke. "And weren't you the one that said it was _our_ problem to deal with? Or have you changed you mind about getting involved?"

Chris hadn't made captain by being slow or stupid. "Manipulative son of a bitch," He growled as he realized he'd just been expertly played. "What makes you think I can do anything?"

"Just follow me on this." Jim turned to his partner and began explaining his idea. "I can't shield Standish because I'm already Bonded to you. The kid there can't do it because Ezra is pushing him away. You can't do it 'cause he's unconscious and probably untrained. Now Larabee here is an unBonded, offline Sentinel Prime whose spirit guide made a special appearance to lead him here." Ellison met Chris' glare with one of his own. "I'll bet if you tried you could link with Standish just enough to give him the shielding he needs."

"Now wait just a goddamn minute! I told you I'm not going back on line."

"No man, Jim's right. You wouldn't need to do a full Bonding, just the surface link. Right now Standish is getting hit by every emotion in at least a twenty-yard radius. All he needs is enough shielding to feel safe so that he can rest. Then once he's conscious again he can rebuild his barriers and we'll have time to plan our next step."

Chris let his doubt show. "And I don't need my senses for this?"

"Enhanced senses make it easier to focus on the Guide but they're not essential. In fact, I should be able to help you connect without going too deep. My only concern is the possibility of severing his Bond with the other Sentinel. When you do connect you may feel the other Sentinel's presence; just be careful you don't instinctively shut him out."

"Right." Chris wiped his damp palms nervously down his thighs. _'I can do this. It's just temporary and it'll save a life; maybe even two.'_ Taking a deep breath, Larabee crouched down then settled back on his heels and placed his right hand on Standish's forehead. He closed his eyes, fighting back a rising tide of panic as he felt Blair's hand settle against his own forehead. _'I can do this. I'm not betraying Sarah. I'm just helping out a kid. Sarah would have understood. She would have approved.'_ And with that thought he felt a tension suddenly leave his body and his long buried instincts surged forward. There was a Guide in need, a child of the Clan was suffering, and he had to act.

Chris was never so aware of the loss of his wife and Guide as the moment he tried to connect with Standish. When he had first Bonded with his wife, it had happened during sex and without their conscious thought. As their bodies had merged, so had their minds, deeper and deeper until it was almost impossible to separate one from the other. As Larabee had said earlier, their union had been perfect. Now, struggling to find a link to the ailing young Guide, Chris was forced to recognize the gaping wound in his mind, the place that had been left empty since the explosion that had claimed the life of his one true Guide. To invite another in, even temporarily seemed...wrong. A sacrilege. _'God. I can't even bring another woman into our house, how am I going to Bond with another Guide?'_

"OK man; don't freeze up on me here. Think of your shields as...a fist. A really strong, tight fist." Blair's Voice caught and held his attention and he focused gratefully on the instructions. "Now concentrate on that fist and slowly relax the fingers. Don't try to move them yet; just relax...relax...now slowly open them...slowly...good. You're doing fine. That's it. Good."

Blair monitored Ezra's mind as he coaxed Larabee along. As the first, tentative connection was made he felt the young Guide shy away in fear and confusion. "Shhhh...calm down Ezra. He's just trying to help. He doesn't want to Bond with you, he just offering shields so you can rest. That's it, take a look. C'mon kid, your top in your class, you know you need this."

Chris sighed as he felt the light touch within his mind. At first he had been worried that the similarity would bring an unbearable tide of memories but the difference was great enough that it was an almost totally new experience. Ezra's mental signature was nothing like Sarah's; understandably hesitant and fearful it was also more... electric. Trying to compare the two, Chris remembered the Bond with his wife as being calm and languid, like a deep, slow moving river. He had often teased her that her presence would settle into his mind like a warm cup of hot coco smothered with whip cream, gentle and sweet. Soothing. A balm for taut nerves.

Ezra though, his touch was prickly; not unpleasantly so but definitely not a calming influence. Too much energy, some of which may have been due to his situation but Chris had a feeling that a lot of it was natural. Quick. Slippery. The image of a cocky young fox flickered through his thoughts. _'Yeah, that's you kid, got caught raiding the hen house this time. Now settle down and take what you need. I feel the same way you do about Bonding so you don't have to worry about that.'_

"Good. That's it. Careful now, don't shut the other Sentinel out. Ezra may not be happy with the connection but for now it stays."

With the Guide firmly sheltered in his mind, Chris became aware of the other presence that seemed to hover in the shadows. Watching. Confused and angry but mostly scared. _'Easy does it, I'm not poaching on your territory; just trying to help. Look, here's your Guide, safe and sound. I'm just loaning him some shields until you're back on your feet and we can sort this mess out. C'mon, see for yourself.'_ Chris could almost hear the growl of discontent and once more an animal skittered across his awareness. This time it was a young cougar, barely out of his spots. Brilliant blue eyes flashed as it gave a final cry of defiance before fading away.

"That's it! You did it man! Wow!"

"That 'wow', that's a good thing, right Chief?" Judging by Blair's exuberance, Jim was fairly certain the operation was a success but he wanted to be sure.

"Oh yeah! Check out their vitals, I'll bet even the Sentinel's has improved. Larabee got them both!"

Chris felt the short hairs on the back of his neck start to rise. "I did only what you told me to do..."

"Oh, you went way above the call of duty here. I mean...I've never...Tests!" Blair shoved strands of loose hair back from his face with both hands as he became more exuberant. "We need to do some tests to see..."

"Whoa Darwin, simmer down." Jim rested a firm hand on his partner's shoulder and gave him a little shake. "Look, you're starting to scare the poor guy and he's never even been the victim of one of your tests. Why don't you fill us poor ignorant Sentinels in on what has you so excited. And yes, the vitals on both kids have improved."

Blair took a deep, calming breath. "OK, when Larabee made the connection with Standish, he also came in contact with the other Sentinel. Now, the best I was hoping for was a continuation of the existing link while Larabee provided Ezra with shields. Instead," Blair's speech increased speed as he reached what he considered the exciting part of his explanation. "Instead he pulled the other kid in as well."

Blair waited for a reaction but all he got were twin frowns of confusion. "Don't you see? Right now Larabee is connected to both the Guide and the Sentinel directly. I've never heard of any kind of link being formed between two Sentinels. I didn't know it was even possible. When I get back to Rainer I'll have to do some research..."

"OK. OK." This time it was Chris that interrupted the hyper Senior Guide Prime. "Other than it helped stabilize the kid, what's the big deal? It's all temporary, right?"

"Ah...theoretically...yes." Blair threw up his hands and leaned back from the sudden flare of rage from the off-line Sentinel. "I mean it should be but like I said, I've never heard of two Sentinels connecting directly to each other. There have been occasions where a Guide has helped more than one Sentinel but at not at the exact same time. And the minds of the two Sentinels never came in contact with each other."

Jerking to his feet, Chris snarled at the Senior Sentinel Prime. "This is all your fault."

"Hey! It wasn't my spirit guide that brought us here!"

"No, but the kidnapping happened in your territory. And how many more kid Sentinels have you got living on your streets?"

"Probably fewer than Denver. When was the last time your Clan did a neighborhood sweep? And Standish wouldn't have been kidnapped if he hadn't snuck out of..."

"That's enough!" The Dark Guide's Voice brought an immediate end to the verbal sparring match and set both men back on their heels. "Anger is not helping these two. We can 'discuss' who, if any one is to blame later. Right now our only priority should be making sure they survive. I suggest we get the medics back here now and transport them to the hospital." The word 'suggest' was given sufficient stress to let both men know it was actually an order and not a suggestion.

"Right. Whatever you say Chief." Jim shouldered his way past Larabee to fetch the medics. Chris turned to follow him but Blair grabbed his arm.

"You don't have to remain in physical contact but I think the closer you stay to them the better."

"I need to check on my men at the hospital."

"Riding in the ambulance with Standish and his Sentinel will get you there the fastest." Blair glanced over at the unconscious teenager and gave a small sigh. "I wish we at least knew his name so we could stop calling him 'the Sentinel."

"Vin. I think." Chris looked uncomfortable after making his quiet announcement so Blair wisely chose not to show his excitement at the startling announcement.

"Uh…OK. Well, that's as good a name as any. Hey Jim, you heard?"

"Yeah, now how about we stand back and let these two do their jobs so we can get Ezra and Vin the treatment they need?"


	7. Chapter 7

"I said he's fine now back off!"

If the nurse was bothered by the growl behind the words, she was professional enough not to show it. And considering the fact that Harriet was herself a Bonded Guide and had been so for eight years, it would have been safe to assume that she had heard her share of growls, snaps and snarls. Sentinels caught up in the Blessed Protector mode often reverted to a more primal nature. Usually all it took to ease them back down was the recovery of their Guides who were the calming influence of the pair, so Nurse Harriet's professional smile remained firmly in place in spite of the snarled words and the animosity battering her shields. And the fact that it was the Guide doing the snarling.

"Easy JD, the pretty lady is only doing her job. Ain't that right miss..."

"It's Mrs. and I'm almost done here so if you could hold still for just a moment longer while I finish taking your blood pressure?"

"Now darlin, I for one never mind holding still for a lovely woman but that's kind of hard to do while hanging on to a ...JD! Damn it! Down boy! She's not trying to Bond with me!"

"I give up." Harriet threw her hands up in the air as she backed away from the odd pair. The Sentinel was a dark- haired, devilishly handsome man who'd woken up and immediately started flirting with the first woman he'd seen, despite the fact she'd been gray-haired and probably twice his age. If he'd felt any Blessed Protector urges to his still unconscious Guide, he'd kept them well hidden. Surprisingly, it had been the Guide that had woken up spitting and snarling at anyone that tried to touch 'his' Sentinel.

"You'll have to excuse him ma'am, he tends to get a little cranky when he's shields get low."

"Low? Try friggin non-existent! And this so called Guide nurse hasn't Bonded at all today and she's emoting so strongly I can practically read her mind." JD glared at the blushing woman as he struggled to free himself from his partner's hold. "And if you're that unhappy with your sex life then get a divorce."

With a horrified gasp the distraught woman turned and ran from the hospital room leaving the Denver Primes to themselves. Which was what JD had wanted all along.

"Ouch, JD. That was a little harsh." Buck Wilmington finally let go of his Guide's arms and leaned back against the pillows stacked at the head of his bed.

John Dunne shrugged his shoulders as he settled down with his head resting on his Sentinel's chest. "Maybe but it was still true. God Buck, they're all Guides and Sentinels here, they should know better. Why can't they just back off and leave us alone?"

"Because then they wouldn't be doing their jobs."

Neither man was surprised to hear their Captain's voice. Buck had tuned in on the familiar sound of his boots as soon as he had stepped off the elevator while JD had picked up on his empathic aura at about the same time.

"Yeah, well we're both awake and breathing; they'll just have to settle for that."

Chris studied his old friend and the young Guide lying across his chest. Once again he felt the twinge of guilt that always came when he thought of Buck being a Bonded Sentinel Prime. And once again Buck recognized the look in his eyes and snorted in exasperation. "Forget it Chris. It wasn't your fault my senses jumped to Prime level forcing me to Bond. And JD here is more than happy to be my Guide so there's no reason to keep blaming yourself."

"If I'd handled their deaths better, not left you alone to deal with..."

JD groaned as he pulled a pillow over his head. "Puh-lease. Not now."

"Buck? Aren't you shielding him?"

"Can't. Remember that sickly little guy Hardwick was introducing as his accountant? Turns out he was a Screamer."

Chris did remember the man and he also remembered seeing JD shake his hand just before all Hell broke loose.

"Damn. How bad?"

Buck gave JD a reassuring pat on the back as he answered his captain. "The Doc said it might be twenty-four to thirty-six hours before the neural pathways heal enough for a Bonding and we can reconnect. His own shields will be slowly strengthening at the same time."

"And he's allergic to dampeners."

"Yep. Josiah and Nathan are arranging a place that's isolated where we can go to rest up until he's got some kind of shielding. In fact, sounds like they're headed this way right now."

"Good, that means I can fill you all in at the same time. Hang in there just a little longer JD." A muffled grunt of acceptance brought a slight smile to his lips as he turned to greet the rest of his team.

"Chris! We were wondering where you..." Josiah's voice trailed off and a look of confusion wrinkled his forehead as he sniffed the air. "Uh Boss...something you want to tell us?"

Nathan looked from his Sentinel to his captain and did a quick mental scan. "What the...?"

JD pulled his head out from under the pillow; his eyes open wide in amazement. "Holy shit! How did I miss that?"

Buck looked as his friends and partner in bewilderment even as he started focusing his own senses. "What are you all talking about?"

"He's Bonded!"

"I am not Bonded!"

"You're back on line?"

"I am not back on line!"

"What the hell were you doing while we were all unconscious?"

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose as he fought the urge to pull his gun. "Look, if you'll all just back down for a minute I'll give you the Cliff Notes version of my afternoon. The details will have to wait for when we have more time."

Ten minutes later Captain Larabee waited while his men assimilated his story. Buck was the first to break the stunned silence with of all things a snort of laughter which earned him a deadly glare.

"Buck..."

"Sorry Stud. But when I picture you being cowed down by a Senior Guide..."

"I was not ...!"

Josiah began pacing around Chris while studying him intently. "What does it feel like; Bonding with a Sentinel?"

"Look, I told you it's not a Bond."

"Sure feels like a Bond to me." Nathan glanced over at JD to receive his nod of agreement. "And this Sandburg wants to run some tests? I think I'd like to sit in..."

"There will be no tests. It is not a Bond. I am not on line. I was not cowed." Chris spoke through gritted teeth and struggled to keep his knotted fists at his sides. A moan from JD and a prickly stirring in his mind forced him to take a deep, calming breath. "I've got to get back to Standish. The Sentinel doctor in charge is a woman by the name of Hanson. She thinks the other kid, Vin may wake up after he's had some fluids pushed. Hopefully Ellison will get their situation straightened out soon after and we can get back to Denver."

"Sure Boss." Josiah stopped his pacing and moved to stand next to his Guide. "In the meantime we've got an isolation house lined up for Buck and JD. Sentinel Prime Gavin has offered to drive them out after a quick stop for some clothes from the hotel."

"Sounds good. You and Nathan should settle in for the night as well. I don't know how long I'll be needed here. I told Ellison we'd make a formal report tomorrow."

After a brief exchange of farewells, Chris headed down the hall to the room that had been assigned to Ezra Standish who was starting to make his displeasure known.

The young Guide had actually woken up just before arriving at the hospital and after a few moments of bleary confusion had immediately started demanding that he be allowed to use a bathroom. The medics had known exactly how to handle that situation even though Standish complained bitterly the whole time. Chris had found himself most decidedly ignored for the remainder of the ride though the presence in his mind felt stronger and even more unsettled.

As Chris neared the door of Standish's room he became aware of raised voices and felt a spike of energy in the connection to his mind.

"I told you; I don't know who that boy is and I am absolutely not Bonding with him. I never met him before in my life. Besides, it's obvious he's too young to Bond."

"This morning I said the same thing about you. I also said you were top in your class and a potential Shaman. I admit I was wrong about the Bonding but I'm not letting you off the hook for the rest. Whether you like it or not you will..."

Chris felt a surprising surge of anger that had him slamming through the door and stalking up to the Cascade Senior Guide Prime before his mind could catch up with his body's actions.

"Touch him and you're going down." Ellison didn't move but the threat in his voice was plain enough. "I know it's incredibly tempting to throw him up against the nearest wall but I reserve that pleasure strictly for myself."

Blair looked up into Larabee's eyes and took the opportunity to do a quick empathic check. "Oh man, I think you're in BP mode. That would explain the ..."

"For the last time I am not on line and I am not Bonded."

"Are you sure? About the senses I mean? Have you tried any...?"

It took a supreme effort but Chris was able to force his hands back down to his sides and turn his back on the Dark Guide.

"That's enough Chief. We need to focus on Ezra and Vin and what we're going to do about their Bond."

"You are not listening to me." Ezra spoke from where he sat on the edge of the hospital bed. Except for a headache, a sore knee and an upset stomach he felt fine and was eager to get back to his school. He was ready to put the entire incident behind him. His only problem was convincing the two Seniors to see things his way. "As far as I am concerned there is no Bond. This Vin person may have latched onto my mind in a moment of extreme duress but that does not mean that we now have or will have, a Bond. I know my rights as a Guide and you cannot make me take a partner. I demand that the doctor administer dampeners immediately so that I may return to my school."

"Now look..."

"He's right." Chris stepped in front of Blair's waving hands and forced the man back a step. "You've made him aware of the situation and the consequences. Bonding is his decision to make."

"But the other boy...!"

"Blair." Ellison silenced his partner with a hand on his shoulder. "I hate to admit it but Denver's right, it is Ezra's decision and he'll be the one that has to live with it. Come on, there's nothing more we can do here. Let's go check on Vin and tell Dr. Hanson to prepare a dampener."

Sandburg opened his mouth as if to continue the argument but paused when the grip on his shoulder tightened in a silent warning. Through his Bond he picked up a confusing mix of emotions from his Sentinel, amusement, hope and a strong sense of urgency. The look in Jim's eyes fairly screamed 'Trust me.' "Um, yeah. OK man, I guess you're right." Heaving a deep sigh, the Senior Guide Prime dipped his head in apparent defeat and preceded his Sentinel from the room.

Ezra watch the Seniors of Cascade leave but felt little in the way of relief. Clearing his throat, he spoke to the remaining man. "Ahem, Mr. Larabee; if I am about to experience the proverbial 'good cop bad cop routine' I would rather..."

"No, no routine kid." Chris rubbed the back of his neck though the real ache was beyond his physical touch. "In two days, three at the most; I intend to be on an airplane headed back to Denver and I don't plan on seeing you ever again. The same goes for Vin. I'm sorry you got put in this situation but it's really not my problem. You want the drugs? Fine. The quicker you two are out of my head the better."

It felt like Larabee was telling the truth but it was difficult for Ezra to read him. Whatever kind of Bond they shared seemed to be blocking much of the Captain's emotions as well as those of everyone else. But Ezra was certain that Larabee was being honest when he said he wanted both boys out of his head. _'Well, and who can blame him? It's really all that other boy's fault. He's messed up all our lives.' His name is Vin and he saved your life._ Ezra quickly silenced the traitorous voice of his conscious. _'I didn't ask him to! He didn't have to get involved. He could have fetched a police officer; apparently there was a warehouse full of them merely a block away.'_ Which did explain why his kidnappers had panicked.

"Look, the doc will be here soon with your shot and the shields feel pretty strong; so I'm going to go grab a cup of coffee. You want anything?"

"Thank you Mr. Larabee but no; there is nothing I need except my freedom."

"Yeah, I heard that. OK, see ya later kid." Chris gave a brief wave of his hand as he stepped from the room without a backward glance.


	8. Chapter 8

_'Ahhh, peace and quiet at last.'_ Ezra stretched out on the bed and shifted a bit to find a comfortable position. _'As if anyone could be comfortable on these rock hard mattresses. Really, they must make the beds as uncomfortable as possible to encourage the patients to leave. Which is exactly what I intend to do just as soon as I get that medication.'_

Standish glanced at his watch and rolled over. The hospital had provided him with a set of scrubs to replace his soiled garments and the loose clothing tended to bunch up and pull in annoying places whenever he changed position. Shifting once more he looked at his watch again and groaned as he realized that only a few minutes had passed since Larabee's departure.

 _'This is ridiculous. I feel fine. Maybe a little queasy but surely that is to be expected since I have not eaten today and I did throw up. Perhaps I should have asked Mr. Larabee to bring me something. Well, I am perfectly capable of fending for myself. And I suppose the cafeteria could add the food to my hospital bill.'_

Suiting actions to words and with an air of confidence that was mostly an act, Ezra left of his room and began looking for signs or arrows to guide him to the cafeteria. He didn't spot any but the hallway to his right seemed like a good direction to start. In fact, he almost felt drawn to walk down it. _'Well, one way is as good as the other I suppose.'_ But this hall ended in an emergency exit, wired to sound an alarm if opened. Pausing in front of the doors, Ezra noticed a short corridor to his left. Oddly enough there was only a single, over-head light working making the hall very dim. _'Hmph. For what hospitals charge you would think they could afford to replace the bulbs.'_ Staring into the shadows, the teen noticed a door that stood slightly ajar but only darkness showed past the opening. _'Was that someone moaning? Surely they wouldn't stick a patient way out here in the dark.'_

Easing forward, Ezra cocked his head to one side and listened closely. _'That was definitely a moan. I should go to the nurse's station and alert them.'_ Ezra moved closer. _'Of course, each room has a call button. I could go in and make sure this person actually needs help and then use the intercom.'_

Before he quite realized it, Ezra found himself just inside the dark room trying to make out the figure lying on the bed. "Ah, excuse me? Are you in need of assistance?" Standish kept his voice low just in case the person was actually asleep.

A whimper of pain answered his question and drew him closer to the bed. "Would you like me to call a nurse?"

"Hurtssss."

"You're in pain? Would you like for me...?"

"Stop it, please. It's you. In my head. It's...too loud."

Ezra gasped as he suddenly recognized the pain filled voice. "Vin? What...?" He backed up a step and felt his shoulders collide with someone's chest. A callused palm muffled his surprised cry while an arm around his shoulders held him steady. The next few moments took on a surreal air as bodies moved purposefully through the darkness. The only words spoken were the pleading cries of the young Sentinel, which gradually became softer and more slurred until they faded out to a quiet but no less wrenching sigh.

Silently Ezra was pulled from the room followed by the others that had ministered to the ailing teen. Once in the corridor the hand dropped from his mouth and his shoulders were released. Feeling suddenly bereft, Ezra turned and was not the least bit surprised to find Chris Larabee standing at his back.

"Well?"

Ezra opened his mouth to respond but the question had not been directed at him.

"No, not well. He's close to entering the second stage and with his weakened condition it probably won't last long. This time tomorrow he'll most likely be in the third stage. All we can do now is keep him sedated."

Dr. Hanson spoke softly but her voice held a sharpness to it that made her displeasure very apparent. Her Guide Eric moved closer and rested both hands on her shoulders but remained silent.

"Remember; just give him enough to take the edge off. He's got to remain lucid."

Eric tensed at Larabee's words a moment before his Sentinel gave an angry shrug of her shoulders dislodging his hands.

"This is cruel! There's no hope for a Bonding so why should he have to spend his last day suffering needlessly?"

"Do I need to get Ellison and Sandburg back down here?"

Dr. Hanson tossed her head with a disparaging snort. "They may be the clan's Seniors but they don't tell me how to care for my patients, Sentinel or no."

Larabee sighed and rubbed the back of his neck; a gesture that was almost becoming a habit. "Look, just give it a few more hours. At least until morning."

Closing her eyes, Dr. Hanson took on an air of intense concentration. Ezra realized she must have been using her senses to check on Vin without actually entering his room when after a moment she sighed in defeat. "It goes against my better judgment but alright, I'll keep the dosage to a minimum until morning. The restraints will keep him from clawing his skin but he may strain some muscles if his struggles increase. I might have to resort to a stronger muscle relaxer if it gets too bad."

"Fine. I know this is difficult but it's too early to give up."

Dr. Hanson studied the ATF Captain closely, no doubt using her Sentinel enhanced vision to compensate for the dim lighting of the corridor. She obviously found what she was looking for because she reached out and patted him on the arm. "I suppose if any one is in a position to judge it would be you. I just pray that you and Ellison are right about this. I wouldn't mind being proven wrong just this once."

"This once?"

"First time for everything." Dr. Hanson smiled sadly as she turned to leave. The smile faded a bit as her gaze swept over Ezra but she continued on her way without speaking. Eric gave a nod to Larabee and then glared with open hostility at the young Guide. He paused as if to say something but apparently changed his mind as he too left without speaking.

"Want to tell me what you were doing in Vin's room?"

Ezra turned his back on Larabee and hunched his shoulders. "No. I mean, I don't know. That is, I know I was checking to see if he needed help but I didn't know that he was him. Vin. I mean ..."

"You want me to believe that you just happened to wander out of your room and down this particular hall and into that room by accident?"

"...yes?"

"Go back to your room Ezra. Dr. Hanson should be by soon with your shot."

"But what about ah...Vin? What did she mean by second stage and final hours?"

"Don't they cover the Fincham Syndrome at your Guide School?"

"We've touched on it briefly but that is a senior course. You mean Vin is ...? But that only happens to older Sentinels who have overused their senses."

"Or Sentinels who have lost their true Guide no matter what their age."

Ezra realized he was doing a fair imitation of a fish out of water and closed his mouth with a snap. "What? That's... that's ridiculous. Sentinels and Guides can Bond to several different partners in a lifetime. Bonding is merely a matter of practice and concentration..."

"…to form a mental connection that enables a Sentinel to better utilize his/her senses and provides a Guide with the necessary shielding that allows him/her to function in society with heightened empathic abilities." Chris shook his head in disgust as he finished quoting one of the more popular textbook phrases. "Are they still teaching that crap? Listen up kid, cause your about to get a dose of cold, hard truth. What they didn't tell you in that fancy Guide school of yours is that there are different levels of Bonds. Yeah, it is possible to have what's called a 'working Bond' that will give Sentinel and Guide just enough control and shielding to function. In fact, I guess if I were on line that's what you and I would have right now. But you can ask any Prime or Senior and they'll tell you that a real Bond, a deep Bond is for life and you don't get a choice on partners."

"No. That's not true. The mixers..."

"The gatherings are just what they appear to be; a big room crammed full of unBonded Sentinels and Guides. It is possible to find partners and many do but most of those are sub-primes. The stronger Sentinels and Guides will actually be repulsed by the idea of connecting unless their true Bond mate is present. It's safer that way because even a surface Bond will increase the Sentinel's powers making them harder to control. The same is true for Guides; their natural barriers collapse and they have to expel energy to shield or find relief with their Bonded Sentinel. Some get lucky right off; others may wait years. Many go their whole lives without ever forming a deep Bond."

Ezra shook his head and backed away from Larabee. "You're lying. It's a trick to get me to Bond with that...that..."

"Sentinel. Whatever else he may be, wherever he came from, it all takes a backseat to that fact. He's a Sentinel. And apparently a strong one. And a very strong Bond was started between you." Even in the dim lighting Chris could see the horror in Standish's eyes but more importantly, he could feel his fear.

"Ezra," Chris paused and took a deep breath. "What are you afraid of?"

"Afraid? What do you mean?"

"Are they right? Are you so concerned with your social standing that you're willing to risk losing a true Bond; even knowing how rare those are?"

"And what if I am? Is that any of your business? Yours or any one else's?" Ezra's knew his voice was getting louder with each question but could not stop himself or the horrible wave of terror building in his heart. "I am attacked and drugged, nearly killed and all any one seems to care about is the life of some homeless street kid! A complete stranger! What about me? What about my choices? My goals? I'm sixteen; do you really expect me to Bond to that...baby Sentinel That... that … street rat?! And do what?"

"Guide. Isn't that what you've been training for? Hasn't that been your goal? Wasn't that the choice you made when you signed up for Guide classes? As for not knowing your Sentinel, if you think about it, you'll find you already know what's most important."

Silence filled the corridor except for Ezra's harsh, panicked breaths. His thoughts bounced from one memory to the next in a chaotic kaleidoscope of classroom lectures and recent events. Book learned facts collided and shattered against the strength of Larabee's words and his own brief experience in the warehouse. He remembered that feeling of connection, of belonging, of being a part of something truly miraculous. And he imagined what it would be like to lose it, and never feel that way again.

...

"Ez...ra…?"

Ezra blinked at the sound of his name and suddenly realized that he was standing over Vin with his hands tightly gripping the bed's rail. He had no memory of walking into the darkened room and yet here he stood. He could feel Larabee at his back once more but this time there was no hand to stifle his cry.

"Vin? Don't...!" Don't what? Was he dying? What had the doctor said? Second stage. Fincham syndrome. _'Think damn it. Four stages. First stage the senses fade in and out sometimes spiking, sometimes shutting down all together. Several small Zones. Second stage, senses steadily intensify eventually causing extreme discomfort and pain. Unchecked a Sentinel can become overwhelmed by one sense and fall into a deep Zone. Stage three, deep Zone leads directly to coma. Stage four, the final stage; death.'_

"God no!"

"Ezra?"

Ezra turned and snatched frantically at Chris' arm. "Help me. Help him! Don't let him die because … because of me."

But it wasn't Larabee's arm he caught. As if produced by magic, the Dark Guide was suddenly there, catching his hand in a warm and comforting grip.

"Tell me what you're afraid of Ezra."

"I'm not..." No, that was a lie. He was afraid. He was afraid of Bonding and now he knew why. "Failure. I'm afraid of failing. Of not being good enough. Of failing my Sentinel when he needs me the most. I'm too young! I haven't taken all the classes or completed all the tests!"

"I promise you Ezra, your Sentinel will never need you more than at this very moment. Help him now and you will never fail him in the future. As for school and tests," Blair's face remained hidden in shadows but his voice definitely held a smile as he spoke. "Well, I've always found experience to be the best teacher although the homework can be a real bitch at times. Now, Guide Standish, are you ready claim your Sentinel?"

'Just like that? Lord no! But...'

"How...how do I?..."

"Just like you did before. Reach for him with your mind and your heart. Close your eyes. What image do you use for your shields, a box? Good, then picture it but this time there's a hand holding the lid down. That hand belongs to Chris and he's going to slowly... lift it...away...

Ezra shuddered as emotions suddenly poured into his mind. The hands holding his tightened and he felt a steadying presence enter the maelstrom.

"Now concentrate. You have a connection with Vin already, simply find it and follow it like a guideline."

"I...can't reach it. Something's blocking me."

"Not something, someone." Sandburg's voice took on a hard edge and his next words were directed to one of the other figures standing in the shadows. "You have to break the connection now; you're interfering with the Bond."

"I'm trying damn it!" Chris dug his fingers into his scalp as he struggled to push the teen Sentinel out of his mind. "He doesn't want to turn loose; he's scared."

Ezra gritted his teeth in frustration and reached for the struggling ATF captain. Placing his free hand against the man's brow, he focused his empathic powers and searched once more for the Bond with his Sentinel.

Chris moaned and collapsed against the wall as his mind was suddenly filled with the energy of two Guides and a frightened, angry Sentinel. Impressions of a fox and a large wolf skittered through his brain in hot pursuit of an elusive young cougar. He was dimly aware of a pair of strong hands catching him under the arms and pulling him to a chair.

"Ease off Chief before you fry what few brain cells he has left."

"Uuuh, thanks...a lot."

"It's not me! Standish! You can't do it this way! Listen to me!"

But Ezra had made up his mind. He was ready to face his fear but he couldn't do it alone. To complete the Bond he needed Vin's cooperation but the boy was doing everything he could to elude the connection. And using the last of his physical energy in the process. _'I am going to Bond with you and save your life whether you want it or no.'_

Confusion. _'Why? Why do you care?'_

Ezra didn't actually hear words but that was definitely the feeling he was picking up. _'You saved my life, why shouldn't I save yours?'_

Doubt. _'Paying back a debt? That's the only reason?'_

 _'No damn it. It's more than that. You're my Sentinel. We... belong together. I... I need you. Just as much as you need me. Maybe… maybe even more. Please, let me help you. Don't push me away.'_

Anger. Distrust. _'Like you pushed me away?'_

Ezra would like to have given himself the credit for making Vin surrender and finally give in to the Bond but the two other people involved knew the truth as well as he did. The cougar's retreat was firmly halted by a combination of exhaustion and the intervention of a very pissed off spirit guide in the shape of a black stallion.

Chris held his head in both hands and rested his elbows on his knees as the crowd in his mind finally cleared out. "Bout...damn...time...you showed up...sorry mule. All your fault to begin with."

Ellison's laughter filled the room as he sensed the end of the ordeal. "Well, at least I'm not getting blamed any more."

Blair sighed and pushed his hair back from his face. The connection had been reaffirmed, now it was up to the two teens to complete the Bond.

"This is it Ezra, stay focused. Because he's so weak, you have to provide all the energy. Normally his mind would reach for yours and establish a hold. Until he is strong enough, you'll have to do all the work. Watch him closely for Zones. Until Vin's imprinted you with his senses it will be hard to anchor him."

Ezra silently nodded his head as he concentrated on strengthening the Bond with his Sentinel. He held one of Vin's cold hands and projected encouragement and gratitude. He's efforts were rewarded in a matter of minutes when Vin sighed and turned his head in the Guide's direction. His eyes remained closed but his fingers tightened briefly around Ezra's as he mumbled, "Guess...old Mose...was wrong. Ain't so... easy...after all."

"Sleep Vin, I'll still be here when you wake."

"Why?"

"Because... because I care."


	9. Chapter 9

"Well?"

"Not yet but he's at least headed in the right direction."

Dr. Hanson steepled her fingers below her chin as she peered at the three men sitting in front of her desk. "I am more hopeful now than I was an hour ago." Leaning back in her chair, she focused her attention on the silent ATF captain. "How did you manage to turn Standish around so quickly? What did you say to him?"

"Exactly what he needed to hear; the truth. Apparently the damn Guide school he goes to is still teaching the politically correct version of Bonding."

Blair sighed and slumped wearily in his chair. "Yeah, a lot of the private Guide and Sentinel schools do. The type of people that can afford to send their kids to those schools find it hard to accept that some things are simply beyond their control."

"Damn irresponsible." Larabee growled his opinion then turned back to the doctor. "Everyone kept telling Standish he had to Bond with the Sentinel but no one came right out and told him what would happen if he didn't."

"We didn't want to guilt him into it."

"Better that then the guilt he would have felt later when the kid died."

"Maybe." Blair stood and began pacing, his hands gesturing in the air. "Man, this is all so incredible! I mean, a kidnapped Guide Bonding with a homeless Sentinel, both in their teens, two Sentinels Bonding..."

"We. Did not. Bond."

"Yeah, yeah." Blair waved the denial away, his back to the room. "Just like you haven't come back on line."

Larabee lurched to his feet, his eyes flashing with anger. "I told you...!"

"How loud am I talking right now, Sentinel?"

"What do you...?" Realization dawned and Chris dropped heavily into his chair.

Blair turned back to the room, his expression one of sympathy and guilt as he spoke in a normal volume. "I'm sorry man. I really didn't think a surface Bond would bring you back on line. Believe me, I would never have asked you to..."

"Yes, you would have." Chris rubbed his hands across his face and let out a resigned sigh. "And if I had known, I would still have done it. Those two deserve a chance and if they make it then it's all worth it. But damn, I'm going to feel like a fool going to a mixer at my age."

Dr. Hanson began to sympathize with the ATF captain but her attention was caught by Ellison who was staring fixedly at his partner.

"Blair? Is there something else Denver needs to know?"

Sandburg shifted his feet nervously as he forced himself to meet the questioning gazes of the Sentinels. "I ...uhh...won't know for sure without tests but...there may be a slight...problem...with Larabee Bonding again."

"Whoa! Settle down and let him finish." Jim forced Chris back down into his chair but remained standing himself; keeping his body partially in front of his Guide.

"It's just that Ezra reaffirmed his Bond with Vin while he was still linked to you. Right now all of his attention is focused on Vin but it is possible that a Bond still exists with you."

"But I would know!"

"Just like you knew you were on line?"

'Fine! But it's just a working Bond, right? We can break it and I can find a real Guide back in Denver."

"Ah...maybe?"

"Damn it! You little...!" Larabee surged to his feet once more but Ellison grabbed his shoulders and halted his charge. "Back off!"

"I told you what would happen if you touched him." Jim growled as he felt the Dark Sentinel rise in response to the threat to his guide. He fought against it but Chris' anger was contagious.

"Get your hands off me! I've had it with his 'maybes' and 'tests'."

"That's enough both of you! Now every one sit down. It's alright Eric, just a couple of Alpha Male Throwbacks blowing off steam." Dr. Hanson reassured her guide as he fairly burst through the door of the office. Eric shot a reproachful glare at the struggling men before taking his accustomed place at his Sentinel's side with his hand resting on her shoulder.

"How are they doing? Is Standish getting some sleep?"

Eric shook his head and made a vague motion with his free hand. Dr. Hanson frowned in concentration for a moment and then smiled. "Well, at least he is resting."

Chris looked from the silent Guide to his Sentinel and realized that they had the rare type of Bond that allowed them to actually communicate with their minds. His suspicions were confirmed when Dr. Hanson repeated out loud what she had just learned.

"Apparently Ezra refuses to lie down in the same bed as Tanner but he is at least sitting next to him propped up with some pillows. Give him a few more minutes and he'll probably be asleep despite the 'appalling firmness' of our mattresses."

The small bit of humor was enough to ease the tension in the room and everyone returned to their chairs. Chris broke the silence first with a heavy sigh.

"So, I guess I'm stuck here for now."

"Look man, I really am sorry. This whole 'Sentinel Bonding to Sentinel' and two Sentinels Bonding to one Guide is totally knew territory for me. I'm just concerned that trying to break apart from Standish right now might endanger the link he has with Vin. You might not feel the connection but it is definitely there and it is strong."

"But while I'm waiting aren't we running the risk of it getting stronger."

This time it was Blair who sighed as he rested his elbows on his knees. "I really. Honestly. Don't. Know. I can talk with the Shaman that is currently teaching at Rainer and he will probably want to see all of you but even he may not have an answer."

"Well, it's worth a shot." Chris stood and stretched a kink out of his back before nodding a farewell to the doctor and her Guide. "Guess I'll go check on the boys and then find myself a couch to sleep on."

"Actually I made sure that the room next to theirs is vacant. As bad as they may be, the beds here are definitely better than the couches."

"Thanks but right now even a plank between two saw horses would sound damn good." Chris exchanged a parting glare with Ellison and pointedly ignored Sandburg as he left the room.

"C'mon Chief, these Sentinel ears are picking up the call of a king size bed and a nice, allergen free, comfort form pillow."

"Oh man, I heard that. I hope you're driving cause I don't think I can stay awake another minute." Blair waved a bone weary 'good night' to Dr. Hanson and her Guide and allowed his own Sentinel to lead him to their vehicle. He actually did manage to stay awake long enough to chide Ellison one more time for forgetting to tell him about the visiting Sentinels but after that, he was well and truly out.

* * *

"OK, try opening your eyes now. Is it still too bright?"

Vin slowly cracked open his left eye. When he was satisfied that the light was not going to blind him like before, he blinked open his right eye with a raspy sigh of relief.

"Good. Looks like all the dials are working again." David Grayson smiled and gave the young Sentinel a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. "Practice will gain you better control and Ezra will keep you from zoning or pull you back when you do."

Vin shifted uncomfortably in his bed at the reminder of his Bond with the wealthy Guide. Not that he could actually ever completely forget it but there were whole minutes when he was able to not actively think about it. And those were minutes he had come to greatly appreciate. A few stolen minutes when he could stop thinking about the weird and totally unbelievable changes in his life. How could it have been just four days ago that he was lying in an alley thinking about dying? And now look at him; warm, fed and bathed, sleeping in a clean bed and Bonded to a high-end Guide. No, wait. What was that word again? Oh yeah, Guide Prime. Which apparently made him a Sentinel Prime by default. The whole thing was whacked. A part of him kept waiting for the dream to end but it never did.

"Vin." David's tenor voice with its Northern accent intruded on the teenager's wandering thoughts. David was a Guide Prime and in the Panther Clan was actually second only to Blair Sandburg in strength. In fact, Blair had a theory that if he and Ellison had not been a Dark Pair then Taylor and Grayson would have been the Clan leaders. Personally David was quite happy being second as it allowed him more time to work with those members who needed extra help; like Standish and Tanner. "Vin, I know that this is a lot to take in all at once but trust me, it will get better. Just give it some time, OK?"

"Yeah well, don't reckon I got a lot of choice, do I?" Vin lifted his left hand from the covers, giving the IV line attached a little shake. "Still hooked up to a juice bag and just walking to the bathroom leaves my legs feeling like that Jell-O the nurses keep bringing me."

David grinned and began digging through his backpack. "Well, if you're getting tired of Jell-O for desert, how about a Snickers bar?"

Vin's eyes widened and his mouth began watering at just the thought of it. How long had it been since he'd had a candy bar? Several months at least.

"Yeah, I thought so. I haven't met a Sentinel yet that didn't have a major sweet tooth. Gary loves these things so I always try to keep at least one on hand." Grayson held out the bar with a wide grin on his face. "Kind of like the Sentinel equivalent of the Scooby Snack."

Unconsciously Vin raised the settings on both his taste and sense of smell as he took his first bite. The assortment of flavors fairly exploded in his mouth and he was carried away on a tidal wave of chocolate, caramel and peanut bliss.

"….back. Listen to my voice. Focus Vin. You can do it. Just concentrate on the sound and follow it back."

"Wha..?" Vin blinked in confusion at the crowd suddenly gathered around his hospital bed. Ezra stood closest with one hand resting on his arm while David stood just behind him looking anxiously across his shoulder. David's Sentinel was next in the group with Jim Ellison and his Guide Blair Sandburg at the foot of the bed. Chris Larabee stood at the side of the bed opposite Ezra with his hands wrapped so tightly around the rails his knuckles were bone white.

"Thank gawd." Ezra slumped in visible relief while giving Vin's arm a reassuring squeeze. In fact, everyone in the room seemed to breath in at the same time and relax tense postures. Everyone except Vin who didn't have a clue as to what was going on and Chris who still had a death grip on the bed.

"What were you thinking, giving him a candy bar without his Guide present?" The growl behind the words made Chris' question sound more like an accusation and David raised his hands apologetically.

"I …"

"It was a mistake Larabee. He didn't deep Zone the kid on purpose." Taylor's own words held the bite of a Sentinel defending his Guide as he rested one arm across David's shoulders.

"Really I .."

"It was a pretty stupid mistake if you ask me." Chris' lips twisted in a sneer of contempt.

"Yes, I should have…"

"Well nobody's asking you." Taylor pulled his guide back half a step and moved his body forward as a protective shield.

"Hey!" David shoved free of his Sentinel while raising his voice to put a stop to the escalating verbal sparring match. "Yes, I made a mistake. Yes, I didn't think about the effect it might have had and yes, I am very sorry that the candy caused him to Zone so deeply." Running a shaking hand through his dark hair, David drew in deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? I've never worked with a newly Bonded Sentinel who is only 14 years old and I made a mistake. It won't happen again; I promise."

An uncomfortable silence fell on the room until Vin shifted on the bed and cleared his throat before hesitantly speaking. "Uh… does this mean I don't get to eat the rest of the candy bar?"

* * *

To put it mildly, Chris Larabee, Captain of the Denver ATF Team Seven and former Senior Sentinel Prime was not happy. To be perfectly blunt and honest, he was pissed as hell and fighting the urge to pull his gun. While this was not exactly an unusual or even rare state of mind for Chris, the cause of this particular bout of incendiary anger was unprecedented.

"A Zone? What do you mean I Zoned?"

Nathan swallowed convulsively and pressed his back tight against his Sentinel's chest. Normally Guide Prime Jackson was not a timid man. Serving as Team Seven's field medic for two years had taught him the values of asserting himself as well as giving him a sense of pride in his abilities both as a Guide and a medic. Nathan also knew for a fact that he had nothing to fear from his boss or any other person; with or without his Sentinel backing him up. But facing Larabee's burning green glare and hearing the questions snarled passed gritted teeth, was giving him the urge to stand behind his Sentinel instead of in front.

Picking up on his guide's distress, Josiah Sanchez rested one hand on Nathan's shoulder while his other hand moved suggestively towards his holster. His own lips parted showing the white of his teeth and a deep, base growl rumbled in his chest.

"Whoa! Whoa! Let's not get carried away here!" Wilmington leaped forward, holding his hands up as he pleaded for cooler tempers. "Josiah, you know Chris is like a toothless old junkyard dog; all piss and bark with no bite."

"Buuuck…"

Wilmington turned a beatific smile on his boss. "Just admit it ol' dog, you wouldn't kill the messenger."

"Kill, no. Hurt…"

"I'm sorry Chris but that's what all the facts point to." Nathan spoke as he patted Josiah's hand and pushed calming mental vibes as hard and fast as he could form them. "Both your respiration and your heart rate had dropped below normal and your pupils were unresponsive. You were eating Tai for lunch so I'm guessing it might have been your sense of taste. Maybe you were subconsciously trying to pick out a certain spice…"

"I. Did. Not. Zone." Larabee's voice was even and precisely controlled. It was obvious from the whiteness of his knuckles and the pinched look to his eyes that he was fighting his own instinct to physically lash out in denial of the truth. "I went offline three years, two month and fourteen days ago; three weeks after my Guide, who happened to be my wife was buried along with my son."

Nathan eased forward and cautiously rested a hand on Chris' arm. He could feel the slight tremble from tense muscles and regretted the anguish he was causing his boss who was also a good friend. "I'm sorry, but Sentinels that manage to survive the death of their Guides often go off line for long periods of time; but that doesn't mean the ability goes away. You physically _are_ a Sentinel and the only way to lose a sense would be to actually lose a corresponding part of your body. As the saying goes, offline is a state of mind."

Chris jerked free of Nathan's hand and paced across the living room area of the hotel suite he had all to himself. The Panther Clan of Cascade had been generous in arranging a suite for each of the Denver Bonded pairs and their boss. This was their third day away from the Sentinel Safe House and despite the undeniable comfort and class of their current accommodations, all of them were ready to get back to Denver and back to their own homes. The only thing or rather person, keeping them in Cascade was Chris and the strange Bond with the teen Guide and Sentinel. A Bond that appeared to be growing stronger instead of weaker.

"I'm going to call Sandburg. This shit has gone on long enough. He's had plenty of time for his 'shamanic consultation.' I'm sick and tired of sitting around with my thumb up my butt. I want some answers and I want them now."

"Now we unfold the paper. Notice how all the lines intersect at some point on the paper. Just like one fold leads to another in discovering the crane hidden in the paper, so too one action leads to another in discovering the purpose of one's life."

Chris sighed as he stared at the paper held in the gnarled hand of the Shaman Miyazaki. "OK, well that was about as useful as tits on a bull." Raising his eyes to meet the calm and slightly amused stare of the Shaman, Chris fought to hold back his frustration and anger. "Look, let's pretend that I'm not into the whole mystical, fing-shay, karmic life philosophy crap. Let's imagine that I'm just a lowly, unimaginative ATF captain and Sentinel who really wants to get on the next plane to Denver. Can you tell me how to do that in fifty words or less that I can understand?"

"Certainly Captain Larabee; call the airport and buy yourself a ticket." The 'you dumb fuck' at the end of the sentence went unspoken but the Shaman's steady gaze said it loud enough.

Chris snarled and backed up a step from the irritating Japanese Shaman/Guide. He was several inches taller than both Miyazaki and his Sentinel Toshiro but despite their size and advanced age he knew better than to even appear threatening to either man. There was a sense of power surrounding the pair that literally raised the hairs on the back of his neck. "Look, I know it's not that simple, otherwise I wouldn't be standing here staring at a wrinkled piece of paper! Tell me what to do so that I can buy the damn ticket!"

"Ah, you mean in regards to the young Sentinel and Guide that you have Bonded with?"

Chris gritted his teeth and turned his back on the infuriating old man. Now he knew why Ellison had insisted he leave his gun at the hotel.

"Mi-chan, have mercy on the dumb fuck and tell him what to do so we can go eat; I'm starving." The softly spoken words of the Shaman's gray-haired Sentinel were so refreshingly blunt and to the point that Chris found it impossible to feel insulted. He gave the older Sentinel a nod of appreciation and was rewarded with a knowing smirk.

Miyazaki shrugged his shoulders. "Hmmph. I'm old and wise; I should be allowed to indulge once in a while."

Toshiro smiled fondly at his Guide and rested a hip on the conference table beside him. "You've had about 20 young Guides jumping through metaphysical hoops for two solid weeks; indulge anymore and your head won't fit through the doors of a hanger."

"Fine then." Miyazaki's nimble fingers quickly refolded the paper into the shape of crane but there was something slightly off with its neck. "Ah, see what rushing did? It spoiled the final design." He looked up and met Chris' eyes, his gaze serious and commanding. "We are dealing with something that neither I nor any of my colleagues have ever encountered before. I have spread the word to my fellow Shaman and even as we speak, all across the world every document that has ever been written regarding the Bonding of Sentinels and Guides is being re-examined. There are literally thousands of such writings in hundreds of different languages; the search will take time."

"Time that I don't have!"

"Then buy yourself the time."

"How? Transfer to the Cascade ATF? Not happening. I need to get back to Denver."

"Who said you had to go back to Denver alone?"

"I won't be alone, my team is…." Chris stared in dawning horror at the smirking Shaman. "Oh no. No way in hell! I am not taking a couple of kids back to Denver with me. What would I do with them? Where would they stay? What would they do while I'm at work?"

"They will do what they must just the same as you. They will go to school, they will learn to control their gifts and in their spare time find extremely creative ways to get into trouble." Miyazaki unfolded and carefully refolded the crane as he spoke. "In other words, they will be typical teenagers."

"Have you actually met them? In no way are they 'typical' teenagers. And why does that thing now have two heads?"

Miyazaki's dark eyes sparkled with mirth as he held up the mutated crane. "Is it not an old American saying that two heads are better than one?"


	10. Chapter 10

Vin cautiously poked his head out the door and checked the corridors that stretched to either side of his room. He thought about using his Sentinel hearing to listen for nurses and doctors but decided not to risk it. The dials were firmly locked down at a normal level and that was exactly where they were going to stay. Lying in the hospital bed for over a week had given him plenty of time to think about his situation and last night he'd made his decision. He'd spent enough time with Ezra and the adult Sentinels and Guides to know that his Bonding with Standish had been one huge mistake. 'Hell, me being a Sentinel has got to be some kind of freak accident. Freak; yeah that's me alright. Whoever heard of a retarded, street rat Sentinel? And Bonded to some kind of rich-kid super Guide? What's up with that?'

With a pair of brand new sneakers clutched in his left hand, Vin eased out into the deserted hallway and made a near silent dash for the stairwell. He'd learned a lot about Sentinels and Guides and Clans over the last few days; first hand knowledge replacing the rumors and tall tales that most believed to be fact. And the more he learned the more convinced he became that the sooner he got back to the streets, the happier everyone would be. Everyone but him but hey, so what else was new?

Larabee would go back to Denver with his men and Ellison and Sandburg could get back to running their Clan and busting Cascade bad guys. And Standish would be relieved to get back to that fancy school he was always yammering about with all his high class Guide friends. Vin sat down on the top step and quickly laced his shoes. He was a little out of breath but other than that he felt fine; better than he had in a long, long time. He sort of hated sneaking away without telling everyone 'thanks' for fixing him up but he figured they'd understand. 'Heck, Larabee even gave me a twenty dollar bill the other day; he must've known I was going to be hitting the streets again soon. Probably wonders why I hadn't done it before now.'

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and began making his way slowly and quietly down the several flights of stairs. 'And that medic Guide, Nathan, the way he kept lecturing me about staying dry and warm and drinking plenty of fluids, he sure must have known I wouldn't be staying.' Still, it had been fun when that other Guide, JD had brought the video games. And Buck was by far the friendliest, most easy going Sentinel of all the ones he'd met. Those two he would definitely miss. Being honest with himself, he was going to miss all the Sentinels and Guides that had taken the time to work with him; even Larabee who seemed to spend most of his time just standing around glaring and growling at anyone who came near him. And, yes, he'd miss Ezra too. Even though just thinking about the uppity, know it all teenager set his teeth grinding. But... at the same time, he felt... something... Concern? Comfort? Faint echoes of that first night, when he'd felt drawn to protect a Guide in danger.

But Ezra had made it plain that he didn't need or want protecting. At least, not by a homeless, 14 year old Sentinel. The few times that Vin had actually used his senses around the Guide and picked up on an empty stomach or headache, Ezra had reacted like a scalded tom cat. Really seemed like if it weren't for the whole 'shield' thing, Ezra wouldn't have bothered stopping by the hospital at all. Big change from that first night. 'Yeah, he cares alright. Just enough to make sure I can block the emotions for him when his shields need recharging. However that's supposed to work.'

Exiting from the stairwell to the hospital lobby, Vin was relieved to find the place totally deserted. The big clock on the wall showed that it was still a quarter to six in the morning which no doubt explained the absence of visitors and staff. Clear glass revealed a gloomy morning waiting just beyond the doors and Vin hesitated just outside the range of the sensor that would make them slide open. Just one more step and he'd be right back on the street. Right back where he belonged. Alone again. 'Ah, just suck it up Tanner and get on with it. You know it's either this or juvie.' Lifting his chin and taking a deep breath, the street hardened teenager stepped forward only to be brought up short by a large hand landing on his shoulder.

"Gyaah!" Vin's startled shout echoed in the lobby as he jerked sideways and spun to see who had snuck up behind him. "Fuckinhell!"

It was Eric, the tall, silent Guide of the short Sentinel doctor that had been in his face and on his case ever since he'd woken up.

"Geeze, you scared the shit out of me." Vin's mind raced as he tried to come up with reason for being in the lobby at the crack of dawn. Why did it have to be a Guide he knew that had caught him? "I, ah…." Vin squinted as the lights seemed to grow suddenly brighter. "Uh…I ... ah…" And suddenly he could hear the hum of the florescence and the dull roar of the ventilation and the grind of the elevators and phones ringing somewhere and the light was getting even brighter and it felt like his skin was crawling with ants and ... "Shit! What's that smell?"

Gagging, eyes squeezed tightly shut and hands over his ears, Vin dropped to his knees and curled into a tight ball of misery. Eric's hand on his back was a thousand tiny needles, each one dipped in acid. He wanted to scream but the only sound to escape past his gritted teeth was a pathetic whimper. A whimper that was drowned out in a pounding roar that grew until he was sure the whole building was about to collapse on top of him and he prayed that it would happen soon and put an end to his misery.

* * *

"Dang. I knew I was going to regret not replacing my phone when the camera broke on it. Someone has got to take a picture of this."

Josiah snorted and shook his head. "I would hope, my brother that you would place more value on your life than that."

Buck grinned and ran a thumb across his mustache. "Josiah, there are some things that are just naturally worth the risk. And this 'Kodak moment' is definitely one of those things."

The image that Buck so dearly wanted to capture, despite the danger to life and limb, featured none other than his boss Chris Larabee. What made this particular moment so appealing was the fact that he was lying asleep in an extra large hospital bed, curled up with Ezra Standish and Vin Tanner. The teenage Sentinel was sandwiched in the middle with his Guide's arm wrapped around his waist. Chris in turn had one arm draped over both boys and they were all snuggled up as close as peas in a pod. The one detraction from the peaceful scene was the washed out complexion of Vin's face and lines of pain that creased his forehead even in sleep.

Dr. Hanson frowned as she stepped through the door into the crowded hospital room. Besides Buck and Josiah and their two Guides there were also Jim, Blair, David and Taylor. And all of them were staring at the bed in the center of the room. Stepping to the side, she spoke to the Shaman and Sentinel waiting in the hall. "Gentleman, if you'll give me just a moment I'll clear the room so that you can actually see our patients."

Miyazaki gave a slight bow to those gathered before easing his way to the bed. "No need Doctor. I can assure you that the auras present are all very soothing and supportive." He paused by JD and eyed the young man critically for a moment before placing the palm of his right hand against his forehead. The young ATF officer closed his eyes and then suddenly sagged back into the arms of his Sentinel.

"Hey! What?!" Buck eased his unconscious Guide to the floor. "What the hell did you…?!"

"Calm yourself Sentinel; he will wake shortly." The elderly Shaman followed the pair to the floor and placed his hand once more on JD's forehead. "He came in contact with the Screamer, yes? His channels have mostly healed but there was … scarring, if you will. In time it would have faded but his shielding would have been weakened in the interim. In your line of work I thought it best to complete the healing process now. See? Already he wakes."

"Hmmm?" JD's dark brown eyes blinked open and he smiled as he gazed up into the concerned eyes of his Sentinel. "Hey Buck; what's up?"

"Not you, that's for sure. How do you feel?"

The young man pursed his lips and bowed his back in a good stretch as he seriously considered the question. "Actually, I feel great! It's like waking up after a really long nap on the couch."

Miyazaki moved back to allow the two men to stand. "I think you will find this a very good time to renew your Bond. I'm sure Dr. Hanson can provide you with a room close by?"

"Of course, right this way gentlemen." The Sentinel doctor held the door open for the Bonded pair as she looked around the room. "We have several Bonding suites available for anyone that needs them…." The broad hint was ignored by the remaining Sentinels and Guides who returned their focus to the sleeping trio. "Well, it was worth a try anyway."

Buck paused just outside the door for one more look. "Dang, if only I'd had a camera…"

"Oh geez, would you give it a rest already?" JD unclipped his phone from his belt and quickly used it to snap three pictures of Chris and the teenagers as they lay sleeping. "There, I'll send them to your phone _after_ we Bond."

"That's my good little Guide, always looking out for your old Sentinel." Wilmington threw an arm across JD's shoulders as they followed Eric down the hall. "Better yet, can you just put'em on my computer? And maybe print out some nice looking five by sevens? Oh, how about one poster size? Can you do a t-shirt transfer? Or how about…"

Josiah shook his head sadly. "There goes a walking dead man. He and Chris may have been friends since high school but if Chris ever sees those pictures or even gets a hint that they exist…"

The Japanese Shaman waved one hand dismissively as he leaned over the bed. "The pictures will not turn out. All digital cameras have a habit of malfunctioning whenever I am nearby."

Blair stepped closer, fairly vibrating with curiosity. "Really? That is so amazing. And that thing you did with JD? Oh man, you have got to teach me how to do that. I mean, I was able to follow you most of the way but when you simply melted through his shields I couldn't quite …"

"Stop!" Miyazaki stared at the Senior Guide Prime with a look akin to horror on his face. "You followed me?!"

"Well….uh…yeah. I mean only until you got past his shields." Blair's sense of self preservation was never strong enough to withstand his curiosity and it naturally chose that moment to simply pack it in as a lost cause. "That was incredible! Your power sieved right through his shields like they were made of cheesecloth. I think I understand how you did it but I would need to practice…"

"That is enough." Miyazaki looked over to where Ellison stood leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "Sentinel, if you truly value your Guide you will take him from this room now."

"What?!" Blair backed away from Jim who began moving the instant Miyazaki finished speaking. "Now wait a minute…"

The old Shaman turned back to the bed as strong arms wrapped around Blair's chest and lifted him from the floor. "You are like a hyper active child protégée. Bond with your Sentinel now and I will speak with you both later."

"Jim, c'mon man, put me down! Jim? You can't be seriously thinking about….. Oh no you don't!…..JIM!"

Dr. Hanson closed the door firmly behind the Senior pair with a smug grin. "I have to say, I like your style."

Toshio nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, he does have a knack for clearing a room."

"Hmmph. The rest of you may stay but please remain quiet while I work."

From all outward appearances, all that the 'work' entailed was standing with his right hand hovering over first one sleeper's head and then another. At one point Vin stirred restlessly and without waking, both Ezra and Chris each tightened their holds on him. Miyazaki lingered longest over the young Sentinel and when he finally stepped away from the bed his dark eyes flashed with anger.

"Now, I have questions about this morning. First of all, where was Standish when his Sentinel was spiking?"

"He was at his dorm asleep." David answered quickly even as he rubbed nervously at his arms. He was not as sensitive to Shaman powers as Blair but he had definitely felt something while Miyazaki worked. "Apparently he woke the moment Vin started spiking. The Sentinel guards on the campus picked him up trying to get out the main gate while still in his pajamas. They brought him straight here."

"And Larabee?"

This time it was Nathan who answered. "He woke us all up at the hotel cussing about 'nagging spirit nags' and 'guide dog food'. From what I've heard it sounds like he reacted at the same time as Ezra."

Miyazaki closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. His eyes opened again as he released the air through his mouth. "And having the young, newly Bonded Sentinel here, _alone_ , made sense to all of you because…?"

No one could answer the Shaman or even hold his gaze.

"I see. Well, perhaps I can answer my own question. Feel free to correct me if I get something wrong." Miyazaki clasped his hands behind his back and stared at a spot just above everyone's head as he began outlining the cause of Vin's sudden, near fatal sensory spike.

"None of you have ever encountered nor even heard of a Sentinel and Guide Bonding while still teenagers. While Sentinels may begin showing some signs of enhanced senses they do not go fully on line until they enter their late teens, with spikes and Zones occurring very rarely and lasting only a few seconds. As they grow older the strength of their senses increases thereby making it necessary to Bond with a Guide. And Guides are not physically capable of Bonding with Sentinels until at least their early twenties. Am I correct so far? Yes? Good then I will continue. So, based on these facts presented we all know that teenagers cannot Bond. And of course two Sentinels cannot Bond with the same Guide nor share a link with each other. Therefore we can only conclude that there is no real Bond between these three on the bed and there is no reason they should be together now."

The silence in the room lasted for well over a minute before David hesitantly spoke up. "But, they are Bonded. I mean, Ezra and Chris both knew when Vin was spiking this morning."

Miyazaki continued to stare at a spot near the ceiling. "No. They are not Bonded. They cannot be. I have given you all the reasons why they cannot be linked."

This time it was Nathan who lost his patience and he went so far as to point his finger at the sleeping trio. "Now look, I don't know what your scan showed you but from everything I've seen and felt those three have a real Bond!"

The Shaman finally met the angry glares directed his way and lifted an eyebrow in obvious puzzlement. "You both sound so sure. Tell me Dr. Hanson, what is your assessment of their condition?"

Clearing her throat, the female Sentinel spoke slowly and thoughtfully. "While it is true that there are no records of teenagers Bonding before now, I have no choice but to believe that these two boys are Bonded as Sentinel and Guide and that it is actually a very strong Bond. I must also admit to the possibility of Mr. Larabee having some type of connection with the boys although at this time I could not, positively say that it was a Bond."

Miyazaki closed his eyes and pursed his lips as he considered the doctor's words. "And yet, despite all of this; despite the gut feelings and clinical observations that they are in fact Bonded," Dark eyes flashed open and pierced the listeners with laser intensity, "DESPITE the FACT that they ARE Bonded, they are not treated as a newly Bonded pair. The newly on line Guide sleeps apart from his newly on line Sentinel? And not just in different rooms but in different parts of the city? And the same goes for this third member of the Bond, who continues to reject the truth though it sings in his blood? And not only this, **not only this** but the training of the Guide and Sentinel takes place separately? Eyah, but you are all hypocrites and I have had enough of you. Go; take your guilty, self flagellating thoughts elsewhere while I tend to my patients."

This time the silence that fell remained unbroken as each of those gathered guiltily did as they were told and quietly left the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Ezra yawned and stretched, keeping his eyes closed as he rolled over to his side. Something tickled his nose and he reached up a hand to brush whatever it was away before it could wake him any further. When his hand brushed against something furry, he set an all time land speed record jumping to his feet.

"Yahh! What the …?!"

Blue. Everything was blue. And not a wall painted kind of blue either, because A: blue paint didn't glow and B: there wasn't a wall anywhere in sight.

"A….jungle? A blue jungle?" Ezra turned around but no matter where he looked, all he saw was trees, shrubs, vines, grass and more trees in a glowing shade of, "Blue?"

Something warm and wet touched his finger tips and once again the young Guide became slightly airborne as he jumped in surprise. Looking down he finally spotted a fox that seemed to be grinning up at him.

"A fox? That's not … wait a minute." Ezra relaxed as he finally figured out the truth. "This must be a dream. I didn't really wake up, I'm still asleep and dreaming. Not my usual style but then things have been a bit strange here lately."

"Yeah, and it just got a whole lot stranger."

Ezra recognized the voice as belonging to Chris Larabee and he looked over to see the man emerge from the jungle closely followed by a large horse. Ezra did a classic double take as he noticed Larabee's all black, gunslinger outfit complete with boots, hat and holstered six-shooter. He couldn't hold back a snicker as he spotted the silver spurs decorating the boot heels. "I have to admit, it does rather suit you. Going to a costume party?"

Chris hooked his thumbs in his belt and cocked his head to one side. "Could ask you the same thing. At least my outfit is actually kind of practical…."

Ezra frowned in confusion and then took the hint and looked down at himself. "Good lord! What am I wearing?"

"Looks like a pretty fancy getup to me. I don't think I've ever seen a real, red velvet jacket before. And that's a nice vest too."

"This….this is ridiculous. I look like a clown. And what is this?" Ezra pulled back the sleeve of his coat to reveal a metal frame strapped to his forearm with a small gun held securely in place.

"Uhm… That would be a derringer."

"A…?"

"Gun."

"What an absurd dream. I actually hope my alarm goes off soon so that I can wake up."

Chris shook his head and moved closer. "This isn't a dream Ezra."

"What? Of course it is a dream. How else do you explain the blue color, the strange clothes and the animals?"

"This is the Sentinel and Guide spirit realm. I came here once with….with Sarah right before our son Adam was born. This is a place our souls can visit in times of need."

Ezra shook his head in denial even as his fists clenched on the lapels of his jacket. "The only need I have is to leave this place."

"Guide, where is your Sentinel?"

A small part of Ezra's mind noted that if he kept jumping like this he should consider trying out for a basketball team. Meanwhile, the rest of his mind was busy taking in the appearance of the Japanese Guide Shaman he'd met briefly right after he and Vin had Bonded.

"I ask you again, where is your Sentinel?"

Ezra frowned in irritation and shrugged his shoulders. "Sleeping in his bed I would assume."

"No, remember this morning?" Chris walked up to stand at the boy's shoulder, his own eyebrows drawn together in thought. "You reached the hospital first. I got there after you and Vin had already been put in a room."

"I… but….when…?" The young Guide shook his head in confusion. Yes, he did remember that. Actually, he remembered waking up with a yell and leaping out of his bed. He knew that something terrible was happening to Vin and that he had to get to him immediately. The trip to the hospital was mostly a chaotic mess of people getting in his way and voices asking him questions he didn't have time to answer. Somehow he'd made it to Vin's side and after that ….after that…

"You fell into a very deep Bond." Miyazaki turned his dark glare to Larabee. "And you joined them. But where is he now, the Sentinel you both strove so hard to rescue?" The silk sleeve of his kimono fell back to his elbow as he gestured to the jungle that surrounded them. "You made this journey together and yet still you are separated. You are bound together and yet you are not truly Bonded."

"Now look," Chris lifted his hands and took a step back from the intimidating Guide. "I am all for Vin and Ezra strengthening their Bond but I'd just as soon be left out of it."

The sharp, hissing ring of a metal blade sliding free of its sheath startled both Chris and Ezra. Miyazaki's movements had been blindingly fast and until that moment, neither had noticed the long sword that hung at his side.

"You are a fool!" The words held the same sharp edge as the sword that now pointed to the Sentinel's throat. "The gods have presented you with a second chance to serve your tribe and clan. But even more than that, they have given you light to replace the darkness that fills your soul. Do not deny the slow death that has stalked you since the day your wife and child died. Here in this place there is only truth and it will be heard."

"Damn you. Damn! You!" Chris' hand fell to his gun and gripped it so tightly his knuckles popped with the strain. "I didn't ask for any of this. No second chances and definitely not to be stuck with two teenagers. I died the day that bomb exploded and all I've asked for ever since is revenge before I go to Hell. If the gods wanted to give me something, why didn't they give me that?"

"And who says that they have not?" Miyazaki moved his sword until it pointed to a barely discernible path through the wall of trees. "There is power here and potential for even greater power at the end of the journey. You have been given new resources, new weapons to aid you in your quest. Use them or not, the choice is yours." The Guide returned his sword to its sheath with a deadly grace that left no question of his complete mastery of the weapon. "But know this Sentinel; there will be no peace for you in either this life or the next if you turn your back on these two boys. Their souls are as ancient as your own and your spiritual paths have crossed many times over the centuries. If you are wise, this will not be the last such encounter."

The Shaman tucked his hands into the sleeves of his kimono and gave Standish one last command. "You have not lost your Sentinel because until now you have never had him. Follow the path and claim that which is yours by right. Only then will your journey truly begin."

A rustle of leaves drew the attention of Chris and Ezra and they both watched as a large, Japanese calico bobtailed cat stalked from the jungle and took its rightful place at the Shaman's side. The leaves moved again and a skittish young cougar followed the cat into the clearing. It tried to go to the Shaman but his spirit guide hissed and drove it back.

"Is that Vin's spirit guide?"

The cougar startled at the sound of Ezra's voice and hunkered close to the ground, its tail pulled in tight to its body.

Ezra looked to the Shaman for confirmation but the man and his guide were gone. He turned to Chris who nodded his head.

"I believe so."

The cat gave a halfhearted growl before slinking off into the jungle, taking the same path that Miyazaki had pointed out, with the other two spirit guides following close behind.

Ezra quickly ran through his options, or rather the lack thereof and finally shrugged his shoulders. "Well then, it would appear that a hike is in order."

Chris bowed his head and sighed in weary resignation. "I am getting way, way too old for this shit."

"Is cursing in this place a good idea?"

The Sentinel stalked toward the path as he answered. "It's a spirit plane, not fucking Disney World; curse, smoke, drink, piss, have sex, it's all been done here at one time or another. Hell, you can even kill and be killed here."

"But you still wake up, right?" Ezra followed Chris into the jungle which turned the light an even deeper shade of blue making it feel like twilight. Making it feel like time was running out.

"Depends. Sometimes what happens here is just a warning; sometimes it's a reflection of what's happening in real life. And sometimes the energies used here actually effect the bodies left behind."

"Effect? You mean like…?"

"Injury or death, those kinds of effects."

"I see." Ezra contemplated this information in silence for several minutes. On the one hand, the knowledge he was acquiring through actual Bonding with a Sentinel was advancing his Guide studies tremendously. On the other hand, a lot of what he was learning was downright terrifying. _'No wonder they don't teach this in school; given a choice, what child in their right mind would want to become a Guide?'_

And speaking of knowledge, "Mr. Larabee, I wonder if you could explain something else to me?" Ezra missed the exact wording of Chris' reply as it was somewhat growled but the man's hunched shoulders and quickened pace was answer enough.

"Seeing as how you are constantly disparaging the educational benefits of my school, I would think that you would appreciate this opportunity to enlighten me further as to my duties as a Sentinel's Guide."

Chris didn't slow his pace but he did glance over his shoulder as he answered. "If you drop all the five dollar words you can ask me anything you want. Talking like that might impress your teachers and the other Guides at your school but they do jack for me."

"Hmph." Once again Ezra was torn between grudging respect and head bashing annoyance. Larabee took the direct approach to everything and always gave straight answers. And ever since that first night in the hospital, the young Guide no longer trusted the answers and explanations offered by his teachers. During the last few days Ezra had caught himself making a mental list of questions to ask the Denver Sentinel when they had time alone. _'Well, can't get much more alone than a spirit realm I suppose.'_

"Why do I have a gun and why did Shaman Miyazaki have a sword?" asked Ezra.

"Defense."

Ezra rolled his eyes at the one word answer. "Excuse me but the Shaman looked like he was doing much more than simply defending himself. And we're Guides; aren't our Sentinels supposed to be protecting us?"

Chris' pace slowed and after a few moments he gave a small sigh before speaking. "Imagine this; instead of spiking this morning, Vin actually made it out of the hospital and back to the streets. Then before we can find him he Zones while in some back alley. While he's completely helpless a pedophile discovers him and carries him off to a secluded spot where he …."

Chris stopped talking and froze in his tracks when he heard the distinctive metallic 'click' come from behind him. He'd been waiting for just that sound and made sure to keep his movements slow and non -threatening as he turned. "Yeah, some things are just instinctual and it doesn't matter if you're the Sentinel or the Guide."

Ezra stared in disbelief at the gun sitting comfortably in his right hand. "I…I…didn't…"

"It's OK kid." Chris gently eased the gun to the side so it was pointing away from his stomach and then laid a comforting hand on the boy's trembling shoulder. "You did just fine. No harm, no foul."

"But…I could have sh…sh… shot you!"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Remember where we are. Here, let's see if we can figure out how to get this thing back up your sleeve before there's an accident."

It took a few minutes but between the two of them they eventually got it figured out. Chris kept talking the whole time, explaining what had just happened in clear but gentler terms than what he normally used.

"A Bond is a partnership between a Sentinel and Guide. Sure, most of the times the Sentinel is bigger and more aggressive than the Guide but I think that's more about genes than anything else. Sandburg could probably explain it better than me."

"But I can't fight! And I've never fired a gun!"

"Ezra, if Vin ever got into trouble, would you run off and leave him?"

"Never!"

"Well, there you have it."

"Does that mean I have to … learn to fight? And carry a weapon?"

"It wouldn't hurt for you to learn some basic moves. It's a well known fact that all Guides…" Chris had to pause a moment to gently set aside the sudden memory of his wife before continuing, "All Guides are trouble magnets. I imagine that goes double for teenagers."

"Hmmph."

"So yeah, learning to defend yourself is a good idea."

"Would you be willing to teach me?"

"Bad idea. I'm a lousy teacher; no patience whatsoever. Buck, on the other hand, he'd be great." And saying that out loud made Chris realize he was seriously considering taking the two boys back to Denver with him. With a deep sigh, Chris gave Ezra's sleeve a tug and nodded in approval. "There, that's got it. Now, let's go collect Vin so we can get back to the real world. I'm dying for a cup of coffee."

The two started walking again but mention of the 'real world' started Ezra wondering, "What do you suppose is happening with our bodies while we are here? The last thing I remember is grabbing Vin's hand in the hospital room."

"Probably still there, either sitting next to the bed or lying in it."

"You as well?"

"Probably." For some reason Chris felt a sudden desire to kick Buck's ass but shrugged it off as the feeling quickly passed.

A few more minutes of walking in silence brought them at last to a small clearing at the center of which sat a large, flat topped boulder. Ezra recognized instantly the figure sitting atop the stone and started to rush forward but Chris' hand on his arm held him back.

"Not so fast. Take a good look and tell me what you see."

Ezra jerked his arm free in annoyance as he answered. "I see Vin just sitting on a rock without his shirt on. Obviously he's OK and we've been worried for nothing."

"Yeah, now take a deep breath, remember you're a Guide and LOOK at your Sentinel."

Ezra frowned but did as he was told in hopes it would quicken their escape from the weird dreamscape.

"Fine. Vin is sitting perched on a rock with his knees drawn up and his arms wrapped around his legs. He is shirtless but it appears that he is wearing some kind of leather pants and he has a band around his upper left arm. His hair is pulled back with another leather band around his head." Ezra paused in his recitation as he finally grasped Vin's appearance. "Ah, now I see; he's dressed as an American Indian. There, satisfied? Have I passed the test?"

"Not even close kid." Chris shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, obviously prepared to wait as long as it took for Ezra to get it right.

Ezra briefly covered his face with his hands and mumbled a near silent, "Why me?" before focusing his gaze once more on his Sentinel.

 _'_ _My Sentinel. And I am his Guide. So what should I be seeing as the Guide to a Sentinel?'_ Ezra decided to start at the top of the silent figure and work his way down. _'Well, his hair does appear a little longer here than in the real world. Ears are normal. I can see every vertebra in his spine as well as each of his ribs.'_ Ezra made a mental note to himself to make sure Vin was getting plenty to eat. _'Alright, he's too skinny, his hair is longer and he's dressed like a Native American; surely that can't be all I'm supposed to see.'_ Looking down he noticed for the first time an odd shaped box and a bent stick propped up against the boulder. _'What are… ah, a quiver and a bow. Of course.'_

"But where are the arrows and why is there no string on the bow?"

"Good questions. Why don't we go find out?"

Chris' voice startled Ezra out of his intense scrutiny. He hadn't realized he'd asked the question out loud but apparently that was the observation Chris had wanted him to make.

"Certainly but when we get home I think we need make sure he is getting plenty to eat. I don't think his ribs are supposed to show like that."

"Yeah, the senses can real play havoc with your appetite. Not to mention living on the streets. It should get better now that he has you."

Once again Ezra was caught up in a confusing mix of emotions; pride at being a Bonded Guide responsible for the well being of a Sentinel and complete terror for the exact same reason.

Chris led the way around to the front of the stone but a flash of metal caused both to hesitate a split second before approaching the young Sentinel. As they drew closer, Ezra saw that Vin held a very wicked looking blade in his right hand. It's narrow, modern design clashed jarringly with the boy's more primitive garb. And the way he staring fixedly at the blade sent a cold shiver of apprehension up Ezra's spine. And judging by his low growl, Chris wasn't too happy about it either.

"Vin," Ezra paused and cleared his throat as he realized he wasn't really sure what to say. "Ah, I've been looking for you. That is, Chris and I have been looking. For you."

"Well. Ya found me."

"What's with the pig-sticker kid?"

Vin looked up and his blue eyes flashed warningly as he met and held Chris' green glare.

"It's a gift. Old streeter named Mose gave it to me. Said every rat needed a final way out."

"Yeah? Why don't you tell Ezra what that means."

Vin's stare shifted to his Guide and then quickly away as his arms tightened around his knees.

"Not much to tell. On the street you live like a rat. Rats eat what they can find and run from trouble."

"And when they can't run? When they get backed into a corner?"

"They fight until they're free or they're dead."

"Or?"

"Ain't no 'or'. Not for me. Not then. Not now. Not ever."

Chris nodded as he got exactly the answer he was expecting. "Do you understand what he's saying Ezra?"

The young Guide did and he didn't like it one bit. The very thought of Vin taking that knife and… and….

"Give it to me." Ezra's tone of voice made it plain he would brook no argument and he held out his hand expectantly.

"What's it to you?" Vin snarled as he leaped to his feet and held the knife pointed at the pair confronting him. "Why is it any of your business what I do or where I go? Why do you keep pulling me back; showing me stuff I can't have? Why don't you just leave me the hell alone?" The knife wavered and the young Sentinel's voice shook as he blinked to hold back tears. "Why can't you… leave me … alone…again…?"

Ezra was shocked at the unexpected display of emotion. When he visited Vin to renew their Bond each day everything was always 'fine' or 'OK'. There had been no hint of unhappiness or anger; not even through their Bond. "What do you mean, 'stuff you can't have'? What things…"

"Ain't talking about things! I'm talkin' about a place to belong. Friends. Family. People that care..."

"You have a place Vin; with me. I'm your Guide and…"

"Not cause you want to be. I hear'em talking at night when they think I'm asleep or have all those dial things turned down. They all feel sorry for you; giving up everything to save me, the poor homeless kid. The dirty street rat. I even heard one say it would've been better if I'd died, then you'd be free to get a real Sentinel."

A flash of anger at the nameless 'they' made Ezra's hands tighten into fists; but his cheeks also reddened with shame as he remember his own thoughts when first arriving at the hospital. But things were different now and Ezra tried again to make Vin understand. "Well 'they' are idiots. I didn't sacrifice anything and you are not a dirty street rat. As for being a real Sentinel…"

"You are so full of shit! You don't care about me." Vin's mocking laugh rang through the clearing and was echoed by a growl from the cougar at his side. "You think I don't hear it in your voice every time you talk about your fancy school and your Guide friends? When you talk about your plans for practicing law. And don't try to tell me who or what I am; you don't know fuck about me!

"Well who in the hell's fault is that?!" Ezra shouted back as he finally gave in to his own anger, fear and frustration. "When we're together you don't say more than ten words in an hour! I ask you how you're doing and all I get is 'fine' or 'OK'. I talk about myself because you don't give me anything else to talk about. You want to tell me who you are and what you want to do then fine, I'm listening. But don't you stand there and tell me I don't care because damn it I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't care! Now give me the goddamn knife!"

Vin's stared in wide eyed amazement at the panting Guide standing below him. He licked his lips and slowly lowered the knife until it pointed at the stone beneath his feet. "You…you only care 'cause you're Bonded to me."

"Hah! It takes a lot more than a Bond to make me get out of bed before sunrise." Ezra stepped closer to Vin, his gaze never wavering. "It's true; I don't know anything about you but not because I don't want to. I'll listen to anything you have to say. And not because of the Bond. Talk to me. Give me a chance. I promise, I'll listen."

It was the truth; of that the young Sentinel was absolutely certain. There was a lot he didn't know about Ezra but this was one promise he could believe in. Vin dropped his head, giving in to his hopes and desires. It might be a mistake but he was just too tired to fight any longer. And if it was a mistake… there was still the final way out. "I want… I just want a place… to belong. And someone… someone that cares… about me." Dragging his arm across his eyes, the young Sentinel sniffed loudly and fought to rekindle some of his earlier anger to give him the courage to finish speaking aloud the pain in his heart. Meeting Ezra's eyes once more, he forced his voice to be steady. "I want someone that cares about _**me**_ , Vin Tanner because of _who_ I am; not what. Why did I have to meet you and become a Sentinel before anybody cared whether I lived or died? **Why?!** "

"I think…" Ezra paused and checked his own feelings carefully before continuing. "I think if I had seen you, before my kidnapping, I would have seen nothing more than a … a dirty, homeless teenager. I would have thought you were totally worthless and ignored you."

The hurt look on Vin's face was terrible and his grip on the knife noticeably tightened. Ezra held up a hand as he hurried to make his point. "But you would have done the same to me. You would have taken one look at my clothes and my friends and decided I was just a rich snob."

Vin thought about that for a moment then ducked his head and gave a small nod. "And spoiled." Looking up, Vin's lips twitched slightly as he added to the description.

"And spoiled." Ezra nodded in agreement.

"And arrogant."

"Yes, thank you. I think I've made my point." Ezra chuffed and shook his head. "Look, the thing is you're just as guilty at jumping to conclusions as I am. And the facts are that neither one of us is worthless and we are both more than just Guide and Sentinel. I think we've let this whole Bonding thing get in the way of actually getting to know each other. And if no one cared about you before you went online as a Sentinel; well, it was because no one really knew you."

"Because no one wanted to."

"Because you hadn't met the right people."

Vin thought of all the people he had met since finding Ezra in the warehouse and what it felt like to be with them. Then he imagined what it would be like to never see them again. Deciding it was worth taking the risk, he nodded and jumped down from his rock, landing lightly on his feet in front of the older boy. Turning the knife over in his hand, he snapped the blade shut and held it out to Ezra. "Guess I don't really need this. Not here anyway."

Ezra solemnly accepted the blade. "Not here and not back in the real world either."

"Yeah, well, reckon we'll have to wait and see about that." Vin turned and looked at Chris who had waited patiently for the two boys to reach an understanding. "Guess we'll be heading back now, huh?"

"Soon; first I've got a few questions I'd like answered."

Vin shrugged his shoulders. "Shoot."

Chris gestured at their surroundings. "You seem to be handling this pretty well. Have you been here before?"

"Once, with my grandfather." Vin smiled wistfully at the memory and reached down to scratch his much calmer cougar spirit guide on the head. "He weren't my real grandfather, but he took me in for a while when I was about ten. He was an Indian living in a shack on a reservation in Livingston, Texas. He brought me here on a spirit walk right before he died."

"He was a Guide?"

"Maybe. He talked about Guardians of the tribe and Shamans. He did tell me I had an animal spirit guide and one day I'd find it. Looks like he was right about that too."

Chris nodded thoughtfully. "You should pass that on to Sandburg; I bet he'd have a field day with it."

Vin shrugged his shoulders, "I guess so. Tried talking about it to some social workers once but they just wanted to test me for peyote."

"Yeah, well I think you'll find a more receptive audience now." Frowning, Chris finally asked the question that had been preying on his mind since the moment he'd woken up with an angry horse spirit looming over his bed. "Vin, what were you doing, trying to sneak out of the hospital this morning?"

"Yes, where were you going at such an ungodly hour?"

Shrugging his shoulders again, Vin began toying with a piece of leather fringe as he reluctantly answered both questions. "Was heading back out to the streets. Didn't see Ezra at all the day before so I figured he had those shield things working right and didn't really need me anymore. Didn't want to go to juvie or wherever it is Sentinel minors get put until they age out. And you gave me a twenty dollar bill and that would have kept me fed for a while so... yeah..."

"Twenty...? Vin, did you actually hear what I said when I gave you the money or was that dial turned completely down?"

"I, uhm, might have missed … a word .. or two."

"Or all." Chris shook his head. "I gave you the money and suggested you check out the gift shop in the hospital for something to read or do in case you were getting bored. You're not going to juvenile hall or any other institution. You're a Bonded Sentinel now and even if you weren't..." Chris paused as he shied away from the thought that had suddenly intruded. "Even if you weren't there are people who know you now and care what happens to you, Vin Tanner."

"Look Vin, when we wake up, things will have to be different. You've got a lot to learn and you'll need to spend more time working with Ezra. But that doesn't mean you have to just blindly follow directions. Ask questions and if you hear something that bothers you; tell me or Ezra or Buck or any of the others working with you. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

"And don't even _think_ about going off on your own again."

Vin smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, reckon that was a bad idea."

"Bad doesn't even begin to cover it." Chris placed a hand on each boy's shoulder and pulled them closer. "For better or worse, we three are stuck with each other for a while and that means we look out for each other. And looking out for each other means we take care of ourselves because if one of us goes down, he can take the others down with him. That's probably the one big liability in a Bond."

The two boys solemnly nodded their heads in understanding.

"Right, then what say we wake up and get this day really started?"

"Wait." Ezra looked to the rock where the bow and quiver still rested. "What about those?"

Vin walked over and gathered the items up. As he slung the strap for the quiver over his shoulder, arrows with black fletching suddenly appeared. And the bow he clutched in his right hand sported a taught string, ready to be drawn. "Used to be a pretty good shot with a real one of these."

"I'll bet you still are. Maybe you'll get a chance to show us one of these days." Chris smiled as he watched Vin stand straighter and hold his head up proudly. "OK, time to blow this pop stand."

"Yes, and exactly how does one do that?"

"Simple, just open…"

"…your eyes. That's it Ezra, you can do it."

"Huh…wha…?"

"Hmm, not your usual articulate self but all things considered not too bad." Dr. Hanson helped the young man sit up and then held a cup of water to his lips. "Here, drink this and then try talking."

Standish blinked in confusion but did as he was instructed; his gaze darting around the hospital room as he swallowed. "Well, that was easy."

Dr. Hanson gave a small snort of amusement. "If you consider anything about this morning as easy, I'd hate to see what gives you a challenge."

"I meant leaving the jungle. I'd thought it would be a lot more involved." Ezra finally glanced down at the bed he was sitting on and found what he had unconsciously been looking for. Curled up at his side, Vin appeared to be peacefully asleep. "Is he OK?"

"He'll do but don't be surprised if he sleeps for a few more hours. The rest will do him good."

Ezra nodded his understanding as he tugged the covers higher on Vin's shoulder. The doctor turned away from the bed to hide her smile and the embarrassing tears that had unexpectedly appeared. _'First time for everything,'_ she thought to herself.

"Is Mr. Larabee still here?" Ezra eased off the bed, tucking the loose blanket in as he left.

"Ahem. Yes, he's in the conference room next to my office talking to Shaman Miyazaki."

"Thank you." The young Guide headed for the door but only managed three steps when a faint whimper had him flying back to the bed. "What is it?! What's wrong with him?"

"Shhh, it's alright. He's only reacting to you leaving. He probably has at least two senses latched on to you right now." Dr. Hanson calmed Ezra down even as she firmly steered him to the chair next to the bed. "So actually _now_ is not a good time to leave him alone."

Ezra watched as Vin did appear to settle back into a deep sleep with the closeness of his Guide.

"But, I need to talk to Mr. Larabee. And what about my classes?" Ezra looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was already going on noon. Before Dr. Hanson could answer either concern, the door opened admitting Blair Sandburg into the room.

"Oh great! I was hoping you'd be awake." The Senior Guide Prime grinned as he fairly bounced into the room carrying his laptop in one hand and a large, take-out food bag in the other. "Hope you like subs. I thought that would be the safest choice to go with and you don't have to worry about the food getting cold. Jim is getting us some water but if you would rather have a soda just say so; I'm sure he's listening in."

Ezra did a fair impersonation of a deer caught in the headlights but quickly regained his composure. "Water and sandwiches are fine but I was just explaining to the doctor that I really need to …"

"Stay with your Sentinel." Blair finished for him as he set up the food on the rolling table next to the bed. "Yeah, see Shaman Miyazaki kind of pointed out some areas in your training that could use a little improvement."

Dr. Hanson laughed outright at the understatement. "And on that note, I think I'll go check on the patients that really need my attention."

Blair gave a small wave as he finished laying out the food. "See, you and Vin haven't been spending enough time with each other. Normally a newly Bonded Prime pair takes a week or two off to devote themselves to learning everything there is to know about each other while strengthening their Bond."

Ezra accepted his sandwich, nodding his head in agreement. "Yes, the so called 'shake down' period."

"Or honeymoon." Blair laughed at the shocked look on the boy's face. "Relax Ezra, it's just a euphemism. Anyway, the problem is, we were all thinking that we could just wait until Vin was well enough to leave the hospital and then kind of stick you two together somewhere. But despite your ages, you're both Primes and our plan, as it turns out was a very bad one."

Ellison picked that moment to arrive with the bottles of water so further discussion was put on hold until after lunch. Ezra surprised himself by finishing his sandwich before the two men but Blair explained about the energy he actually used while in the Spirit Realm.

"You probably burned more calories there then you would in a forty minute workout. It takes real energy to visit the Spirit Realm and you three were there for a couple of hours."

"Really? It didn't seem like that long." Ezra looked to his sleeping Sentinel as he spoke. "Is he going to be alright? I don't think he had the energy to spare for something like that."

"He's going to be fine; Shaman Miyazaki made sure of that." Ellison gathered up the sandwich wrappers and empty bottles as he spoke. "And speaking of the Shaman, I'd better go check on Denver, he didn't seem too happy when he woke up."

Blair laughed as he opened his laptop. "Not happy? Now that's an understatement."

Remembering back to their encounter with Miyazaki in the Spirit Realm, Ezra frowned in concern. "You don't think he would try and hurt the Shaman, do you?"

"Nope." Jim paused in the open door as he spoke. "Larabee may be a short tempered, stubborn son of a bitch but he's not suicidal."


	12. Chapter 12

"OK, I get the part about Vin and Ezra moving into your hotel room and I can understand wanting to take them back to Denver because of this three way Bond thing but have you thought about what the boys might want?" Buck paused in his pacing to face his boss and more importantly, his best friend. "And have you really considered what it's going to be like having a couple of teenagers living with you?"

"It's going to be like hell, that's what it's going to be like." Chris glared at Miyazaki as he spoke but the Shaman merely smiled serenely back at him. "As for what they want, I can't see them having a problem with moving. Vin should be glad just to have a place to stay and from what I've learned about Ezra, he's used to moving around. Besides, the Wells Academy is just as good if not better than the school he's in now."

"But, what about his mom?" JD hesitantly voiced his concern to the room full of Guides and Sentinels. "I mean, what does she think of all this?"

"Apparently she pretty much abandoned Ezra soon after he started to school." David held up a file that he had been reading while the others spoke. "She moved to California after just three months and left Ezra behind. But the only students that are supposed to be living on campus are those who are eighteen to twenty-one years old."

Ellison frowned in confusion. "Blair didn't mention any of that when we started investigating his kidnapping."

"Probably because he didn't know. I had to do some digging for this because it happened under Carver and Gibson." David quickly explained for the Denver Sentinels, "Carver was the Clan Senior Prime before Jim and Blair Bonded. Things did not always go … smoothly, during his leadership. Anyway, I've double checked and legally, Ezra's guardianship was turned over to the Panther Clan of Cascade and Carver got the school to agree to let him live on campus until such time as his training was complete. Now, as the current Senior Sentinel Prime, Jim Ellison can make decisions on his behalf."

"Right, it's settled then." Chris stood up and met the gazes of each of his men. "We head back to Denver in two days and hopefully start piecing together what went wrong with this bust." He turned finally to the Japanese Shaman as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I trust this meets with your approval?"

"Why was your team lured to Cascade, Sentinel? Why did the Screamer attack them here and not in Denver?"

Silence filled the room as everyone stared at Miyazaki who sat as if patiently waiting for an answer he already knew.

Chris' eyes narrowed as he studied the Shaman and then with a growl he was leaning over, his hand reaching for the smaller man's collar. He was on his back and on the ground before his mind had a chance to catch up with his body. Above him stood the Shaman's Sentinel, his black stare promising a quick death at the slightest movement.

"Toshio, it is alright. He will not harm me. He is only concerned for the safety of his men."

Chris growled as he pushed Toshio back. A quick glance showed him that none of his men had even twitched a finger to come to his defense. And while he couldn't deny their wisdom, it was still damn annoying.

"What do you know about the bust?"

Miyazaki waited until Larabee was back on his feet and then spoke. "I have only questions; questions that need to be answered before you return to Denver. Why bring your team here for an attack? Why bring you to the attention of the Senior Sentinel Prime of Cascade? Why not kill your men after they were rendered helpless?" The Shaman stood as he asked his final question. "Was this attack truly directed at your team? Or just you?"

Chris shook his head. "The Screamer and the sonic wave generator didn't have any effect on me because I'm… I was offline and I don't… didn't have a Guide. The attack couldn't have been meant for me."

"Hmm…then maybe not you alone; again why bring you here in the territory of the Panther Clan?"

"Uhm…" JD was hesitant to break the silence following the Shaman's question but an idea was starting to form in his head. "Maybe because their plan involved Blair and Jim?"

"But it was me and Gary at the warehouse, not …" David started to argue but his Sentinel cut him off.

"Only because Ellison and Sandburg were put in charge of finding that Standish kid; otherwise they would have been at the warehouse."

"Yeah, exactly!" JD grinned and looked around the room but it was obvious from the frowns of confusion that no one else had followed his line of reasoning. "Think about it, the only witnesses to what was happening in that room were our team, the bad guys and Gary and David; all the regulars were outside waiting on a signal from Gary. The sonic attack combined with the Screamer took out everyone except Chris and the bad guys."

Chris began pacing the room as he replayed the meeting in his mind. "I tried to draw my gun but Hardwick's two apes grabbed me. I remember thinking that we were all dead men, and then Hardwick took a call on his cell phone and got royally pissed. He was across the room but I could see him talking. He said something…."

Miyazaki leaned forward in his chair. "Concentrate. You are a Sentinel. You heard what he said. You always hear."

Everyone waited silently as the ATF captain struggled to remember Hardwick's words. Chris' pacing took him close to where David and his Sentinel stood. Looking at them he froze and then snapped his fingers.

"Not Sandburg! He said, 'No, that's not Sandburg.' Then he paused like he was listening again." Chris squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose as he struggled to remember what else he'd heard without realizing it at the time. "Something like 'I'm sure' and then…" Chris looked up and his eyes met those of a very angry Jim Ellison as he finished, "Do nothing. Our buyer only wants Sandburg."

* * *

"So let me get this straight;" Blair's hands wove an intricate pattern of agitation in the air as he paced and talked at the same time. "This guy Hardwick, who supposedly was selling guns, might really be Mitchell Hayden, a 'procurement specialist' who obtains things illegally for buyers as long as the price is right? And somewhere out there is a 'buyer' who wants me bad enough to set up this elaborate plan to have me kidnapped and make it look like I was taken by an offline Senior Sentinel Prime?! That's…that's…insane."

"You can say that again."

The implied sarcasm was unmistakable and Blair smacked his Sentinel on the arm with the back of his hand as his paced by. A long arm snaked out and Sandburg was pulled in close for a quick scenting and a growl of reassurance. Nobody was taking Ellison's Guide and that was final. Blair calmed immediately and leaned against his Sentinel's side.

"Thanks man. It's just the thought of someone wanting 'me', specifically. Not just some nameless Senior Guide Prime but 'Blair Sandburg Senior Guide Prime.' I mean, what gives?"

Buck shuffled the pictures lying scattered on the table. There were several candid shots of the man the Denver team had come to know as Michael Hardwick; an out of country gun runner who was looking to unload several crates of military grade firearms. Crates that had supposedly wound up in a warehouse in Cascade by mistake. Of particular interest was a picture of Hardwick with a sickly looking fellow they now knew to be a Screamer. The picture was telling because it showed that Hardwick bore a remarkable resemblance to one Mitchell Hayden, who appeared in a photo taken in Europe with the same Screamer just a week prior to arriving in Denver.

"I'm a little confused here myself." Buck leaned back in his chair and stared at the Cascade Seniors through narrowed eyes. "Why would anyone think Chris, of all people would try to steal Blair? And even if Hayden or Hardwick had succeeded, what did his buyer hope to do with a Bonded Guide?"

Josiah had been considering the same questions and had come up with possible answers. "Obviously the buyer thinks he has a way of negating the Bond while keeping Blair alive. As to why use Chris as the fall guy, my guess it is someone that has a personal grudge against our captain and saw this as the perfect opportunity."

"Well, that should lower the number of suspects to only a few hundred or so." Chris snorted as he leaned forward to rest his elbows on the conference room table. "Shouldn't take long at all to find our buyer."

"Don't forget Hayden's salary." Ellison had managed to get his Guide seated and calm enough to actually participate in the discussion. "From the way you've described him I don't think we're talking about the kind of money made by your average gun or whiskey runner."

"Oh, you'd be surprised what some military grade shipments can sell for." But still Chris nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, that kind of money does narrow the field of suspects."

"And the whole Guide business cuts it down even further." Nathan pointed out to those gathered. "We're looking for someone who wants or has need of a powerful Guide, has the money to hire Hayden, a grudge against Chris and the criminal attitude of not caring who gets hurt in the process."

"OK, but why me?" Blair looked at all the Sentinels and Guides gathered around the table hoping one of them could come up with a logical answer that would also make the whole situation somehow less personal. "I mean, why not some other Senior Guide Prime in another city or even another state? Why Cascade? Why a Bonded Guide at all? Why ME?"

"Because not only are you a Senior Guide Prime your also one of only four known Dark Guides? And maybe because you went for so long without a Sentinel that maybe you have a better chance of surviving a break in your Bond?" All eyes shifted to Grayson as he slowly voiced his thoughts. "Or maybe it really doesn't matter if you live or not. Maybe it's someone that not only knows Chris but also Jim and wants revenge against him as well."

"Blair weren't the only Guide getting snatched that day."

All eyes turned to the door as Vin and Ezra stepped into the room. The young Sentinel looked pale and a bit unsteady, but his blue eyes flashed with a grim determination as he met Chris Larabee's gaze.

"Ezra was being held for ransom. His mother received an email demanding money for his safe return." Ellison spoke as he pulled a chair out from the table and motioned for Vin to sit down. Grabbing on to the back of it for support, Vin glared and shook his head.

"I heard 'em. They had a 'buyer' wait'n. Sounded like he must have paid them something in advance too."

Ellison shot a look to Gary who merely nodded and headed for the door, David quickly falling in beside him. "Right, we'll pull the records on those two and look closer at their activities leading up to the kidnapping."

Josiah called out, "Hit their personal possessions again. If they got a payment maybe it was in cash. Look for scent clues."

"Yeah, teach your grandma to sniff…."

"Gary!" David gave his Sentinel a hard push to move him along and gave those in the room a quick, apologetic wave before closing the door behind them.

There followed a moment of awkward silence that was finally broken when Buck stood up and stretched his back with an audible pop. "Well, most of us have been up since six 'Oh Shit' o'clock this morning and I say it's either time for a break or time for some action. We either go hit a restaurant for some chow or head to the local ATF office for use of their computers."

"No reason why we can't do both in that order." Chris stood but hesitated as he looked to the two teens watching him from the other side of the room.

"Take them with you." Miyazaki spoke up from where he'd been sitting quietly in a corner during the entire meeting. Once he'd gotten the ATF team thinking in the right direction he'd wisely stepped aside to allow the professionals to do their job. Now however it was once again time for the Shaman to do his. "Vin can take it slow and the change of scenery will do him good. This will also give them a taste of what exactly it is you do."

Vin and Ezra seemed to perk up at the suggestion while the majority of those gathered looked skeptical at the idea. Larabee looked downright hostile. "They don't need a 'taste' of what I do and the scenery in the hospital cafeteria is just fine."

Miyazaki merely smiled and tilted his head toward the door. The muscles in Chris' jaws visibly flexed and more than one Sentinel flinched at the noise of grinding enamel. "Fine. We'll take them out to eat but then they're going straight to the hotel room and stay there. And that's final."


	13. Chapter 13

Vin hunched his shoulders as he pushed the food around on his plate; intensely aware of the quick glances and silent monitoring from all the adults around him; both Sentinels and Guides alike. A little over a week ago he had been on the verge of dying alone in a back alley and all he could think about was how badly he wanted someone to care. Now... now it was like being surrounded by a pack, or flock of... of...

"Mother hens?"

Vin's head shot up and he looked across the table to meet the laughing gaze of the Senior Guide Prime. Feeling his cheeks redden with embarrassment, the teen glared back.

"Ain't right to read a person's mind."

"Didn't have to. I've been where you are right now. You can ask David to tell you about it sometime. No one does the 'mother hen' routine better than a Sentinel. And I promise you, one day you'll be on the giving side instead of receiving."

"Dear Lord, I had hoped that at least those stories were exaggerations." Ezra looked around the table at the mix of Sentinels and Guides and was dismayed to see the collection of knowing smiles and smirks. Turning his head he caught the considering look of his own Sentinel and narrowed his eyes. "Don't even think about it Mr. Tanner."

"It's instinctual, he won't have much choice in the matter and neither will you." Buck gestured with his fork to JD. "Doesn't help matters that Guides are natural born trouble magnets."

"Sez you! I had a nice, quiet life hacking mob computers until you came along."

"Quiet? More like introverted. All day, closed up in a little bitty apartment, sitting over a keyboard, blankets over the windows, only light was from a dozen different monitors you had set up..."

"It was only five and I was happy." JD tried to look annoyed but the sparkle in his eyes gave him away.

"Yeah. Was a lot happier the day I took you out to Chris' and introduced you to Peggy Sue."

"Until she bit me on the ass. Which was your fault, not mine."

Vin choked on the swallow of water he had just taken and Ezra's cheeks turned a deep shade of red.

"Horse. Peggy Sue is a horse." Chris calmly reassured the teens who were not used to the antics of his team members. "Right after Buck Bonded with JD he brought him out to my ranch. JD had a granola bar in his back pocket."

"You've got a ranch and horses?" It didn't take Sentinel hearing to pick up the wistful tone in Vin's question.

"Small ranch, five horses."

"It's awesome! You're going to love it. There are some great trails and a lake that's perfect for swimming in the summer time. And don't worry if you've never ridden before; Buck is a good teacher and …."

"JD!" Buck gave his Guide a nudge under the table but it was too late. Now both Ezra's and Vin's attention was focused exclusively on Chris Larabee. A lesser man might have felt somewhat intimidated or at least uncomfortable but Chris simply stared back at the teens while sipping his coffee.

"And on that note, I think Nathan and I should go find some computers and get back to work." Josiah quickly wiped his mouth on his napkin while pushing his chair back from the table.

"Oh, definitely time to get back to work." Nathan was only a second behind his Sentinel and both men were gone from the table before the others could respond.

"Uh, yeah. Maybe we should be helping them out or something. C'mon JD."

"I'm sorry. I uhm... "

"It's OK." Chris waved the embarrassed Guide on. "Now's as good a time as any. You and Buck catch up to Nathan and Josiah, see what you can find."

"Sure. Do you want those printouts for Wells Academy now or...? Ah… maybe later..."

Buck gave JD a gentle swat on the back of his head as he ushered him out of the private dining room. "I swear, you keep a secret about as well as a cat keeps a pet goldfish."

"What do you mean?"

"Once you open your mouth it's gone."

Vin stared at Chris Larabee as he tried to sort out the rush of conflicting emotions making his heart start to race. On the one hand, it sounded like he was going to have a place to live other than some kind of institution or foster home. If he was piecing it together right, it sounded like he and Ezra was going to be moving in with Larabee; who happened to have a ranch with horses. Vin's grandfather had taught him to ride and that was one of the few memories he truly cherished. To have a chance like that again...

But for how long? Until Chris could break free of the Bond? And then what? And what about Ezra and his fancy school? When he started thinking about Ezra, Vin realized that at least a portion of the tangled emotions he was feeling were coming from his Guide.

"And what, pray tell, is the Wells Academy?" Ezra's voice was calm but artificially so and the way he carefully laid his napkin on the table and gently pushed his plate aside did nothing to hide the tension in his body. "A highly regarded Guide school no doubt?"

"Nope. It's a highly regarded, somewhat controversial Clan school. It teaches Guides and Sentinels together." Chris sat his coffee mug on the table as he leaned forward in his chair. The Sentinel directed his words to Ezra but he kept his eyes on Vin as he spoke. "You both have a lot to learn and as that know-it-all Shaman pointed out, you need to learn it together. And for the time being I need to be near both of you. This is the only solution."

"Excuse me but the need of a 'solution' implies that there is a problem and as I see it the only 'problem' here is the addition of you to this Bond. Without you there would be no real need for Vin and I to move." Ezra crossed his arms over his chest and glared defiantly at the ATF captain.

"Yeah, well, it won't be the first time I was a problem for a Bonded pair, I'm sure it won't be the last." Shaking his head, Chris leaned back in his chair. "It's a done deal Ezra. Your mother made you a ward of the Panther Clan when you started going to Guide school. As such Ellison and Sandburg here get to decide where you go to school and where you live."

"This is ridiculous! I will hire a lawyer and ..."

"Clan Law, Ezra." Blair had been carefully monitoring the emotions of those at the table and judged the moment was right for him to step in. "I'm pretty sure that has been covered at your school already."

"Yes but..."

"No buts kid." Ellison nodded his head in Chris' direction. "He has a responsibility to his team and a job waiting for him in Denver. But he also has a Bond with you and Vin and he's accepted that responsibility as well."

Everyone ignored Blair's softly spoken "Finally." as Ellison continued. "I've got my own set of responsibilities that include my Guide, my clan and my job, in that order. Your Bond is effecting all three right now and honestly, the best solution for me is to move you to Denver."

"This... this is... it's ..."

"Messed up." Vin finished his Guide's sentence and turned his attention to Blair. "This new school in Denver; is it at least as good as the one Ezra has here?"

Blair nodded his head emphatically. "It's actually becoming a model for other Sentinel/Guide schools. It's graduates have achieved the highest rankings for the last three years running and 98% of them go on to graduate from college."

Both Chris and Ellison had been monitoring the teens closely; Larabee through his Bond with the boys and Jim through his senses. They had both spotted the tell tale signs of Vin squinting his eyes as if the light was becoming too bright and Ezra rubbing at his temple. It was time to get them someplace quiet and secluded; they would have to finish this conversation later. Surprisingly enough, Ezra seemed to come to that same conclusion on his own.

"Well, something to look forward to I suppose." Pushing himself back from the table, Ezra stood and waited for Vin to join him. "I think Vin and I have a great deal to reflect upon so perhaps we could continue this conversation after dinner tonight?"

"Sure Ezra, tonight will be fine. In the meantime you and Vin will stay in my room at this hotel." Chris reached in his pocket and tossed a plastic keycard out on the table.

"I hardly think..."

"About your Sentinel." Chris nodded his head towards Vin. "Do a quick scan Guide, your Sentinel is hurting right now."

"I'm fine." Vin tried to glare at Larabee but it was hard to do when it felt like he was standing directly beneath a spotlight. He'd been fumbling with his vision dial for the last few minutes but everything he tried seemed to make it worse. And he wasn't about to confess that to others or let them put the blame on Ezra.

"You have a skewed sense of 'fine' Tanner." Chris took out a pair of sunglasses and held them out to the suffering teen. "The hotel is registered with the Clan and my room is especially designed to be Sentinel friendly. Blackout curtains, sound proof walls, built in white noise generators and a bed that's totally hypoallergenic. Not to mention soft as a cloud. And when your feeling better than 'fine' you can watch television or play with the game pad that JD left for you. Room 707; turn right when you get off the elevator."

Vin's hands remained stubbornly at his sides until he felt a mental nudge from his Guide. "He is correct Vin. I need to assist you with resetting your baselines and in the process you will, no doubt aid me with this irritating headache that I have developed. No doubt thanks, in part, to our present company. Therefore I believe the hotel room will provide a much more relaxing atmosphere than your room at the hospital. Not to mention the fact that is a short ride up from here." Turning once more to Chris Larabee, Ezra pasted a look of angelic innocence on his face that fooled no one. "And I assume that should Vin become hungry for an evening snack there is room service?"

"Sure. Just keep track of how much you spend so I can send the bill to Ellison."

"Wait a minute..."

"They're yours until the plane lifts off for Denver."

"The reason they're going to Denver is because you Bonded with them."

"And whose fault is that?"

Blair grinned as he gestured for Vin and Ezra to follow him to the door of the restaurant. He wasn't worried about leaving the two Sentinels alone; neither of the men was actually angry or even remotely annoyed. He figured that the verbal sparring was akin to chest thumping in the animal kingdom. "As long as they don't start pissing in the corners..."

"Good lord! Is that another closely guarded secret Sentinel behavior that I should be aware of."

Before Blair could respond, Vin answered with a rare show of humor. "Sure Ezra, how else we gonna mark what's ours? I'll show you soon as we pay a visit to that dorm room of yours."

"You most certainly will not!"

"Joke, Ezra! Joke. Sentinels don't do that." Blair quickly reassured the young Guide as they walked across the lobby of the hotel. "Or if they do, a couple of swats with a rolled up newspaper will put a stop to it pretty quick."

Reaching the bank of elevators, Blair gestured to one whose doors were just opening. "After you."

Ezra froze at the sudden flash of fear and panic that came from his Sentinel. "Vin? What's wrong."

Vin felt his cheeks warm with embarrassment. It had been a long time since he'd been faced with riding in an elevator and he'd forgotten just how small they were. And once the doors closed...

"Think I'd rather take the stairs."

"But it's seven flights. Surely whatever phobia you have regarding riding an elevator ..."

"Ain't riding in the elevator so much as the size of it. I just don't like being closed up in small places."

"But it is not that small and it will take less than two minutes to reach our floor I'm sure."

"I'm taking the stairs."

"Just close your eyes..."

"Hey," Blair quickly assessed the situation and came up with a solution that would help alleviate some of Vin's embarrassment. "Look Vin, the elevators on the outside wall are glass, do you think you could ride in one of those?"

Vin squinted through the open doors of the elevator opposite the one Ezra was trying to tug him into. Despite the dark sunglasses, it was like looking out into the dessert at high noon. He knew it was still an enclosed space, but the glass walls on three sides were enough to give him the illusion of a way out should he need it. "Yeah, reckon I can ride in that for a couple of minutes."

"Great. All aboard." Blair ushered the two boys ahead of him and quickly pushed the button for the seventh floor. Vin and Ezra moved to the far side of the elevator to stand with their noses almost up against the glass as they stared out at the city around them. Neither noticed how Blair stayed close to the doors with his back to the view. And if Vin heard the mantra he whispered under his breath, he was considerate enough not to mention it.


	14. Chapter 14

"Sounds like Tanner may be claustrophobic."

Chris winced as Ellison's voice boomed unexpectedly. He quickly dialed back his hearing and tried to cover up his momentary lapse in control with a sip of his tepid coffee.

"So, you've definitely got your hearing back online; any others?"

Setting his cup back on the table, Chris gave an irritated growl. "Taste. Unfortunately."

"Smell will probably be next then." Ellison settled back in his chair and did a quick scan of his companion. "You know, some quiet time with Vin and Ezra would probably do you some good too."

"I'm fi…" Chris caught himself when he saw the smirk on Ellison's face. Gritting his teeth, he pushed away from the table. "Yeah, maybe later. Right now I want to check in with the others, see if they've turned up anything new."

Blair met them at the hotel entrance, his normal exuberance slightly more subdued. "Hey, I think Vin might be …"

"Claustrophobic. We were listening. Quick thinking, getting him on the outside elevator." Ellison studied his Guide closely. "Are you alright?"

Blair gave a lopsided smile and a small shrug of his shoulders. "Just processing the memories. I'll meditate during the ride to the office." Seeing Chris' look of confusion, Blair quickly explained. "Nut case with a grudge planted a bomb in an elevator. I just happened to be one of the passengers trapped in it. Man, definitely not my idea of a fun afternoon."

"Way to understate the obvious, Chief."

"So, yeah elevators are still a thing for me. That and really high places. But seven floors, that's not so bad." Looking back toward hotel as he walked to Jim's truck, Blair frowned thoughtfully. "If Vin is claustrophobic, that might cause some real issues."

"What kind of issues?" Larabee mentally braced himself for another problem to add to his growing collection.

"Well, besides the obvious like small, windowless rooms and crowded airplanes, we have to consider false sensory input. If his hearing or sense of touch were to send him signals that the space he is in is actually smaller than it is really is, that could put him into a state of panic which would only make control even more difficult."

Chris shook his head in confusion. "Hearing I get, but what does touch have to do with it?"

"Echo location by using hearing as well as feeling air vibrations against your skin. You'd be surprised at how many Sentinels use it subconsciously during their everyday lives."

"No, no I wouldn't. Not anymore." Sighing, Larabee opened the passenger door and stood back for Blair to climb in. "The only thing left that could surprise me would be getting back to Denver before another crises hits."

* * *

"OK, we've got confirmation that Hardwick is Hayden and there never were any guns. And it turns out the Screamer really is an accountant and really is named Lester Martin. Apparently he likes to bet on horses, and dogs, and fights, and football and just about anything else he can find. Started earning extra money working as a Screamer-for-hire to cover his bad bets." Josiah tossed the thick manilla folder on the table and leaned back in his chair. "He incapacitates guards made up of Sentinel-Guide pairs at mansions or art galleries so that the thieves have an easier time of it. Never been convicted of a crime because there isn't anything in the law books about 'emoting with intent to harm'.

Ellison growled as he paced the confines of the Major Crimes conference room they had taken over for the evening. "It may not be a crime punishable by jail time but if the Clan ever gets a hold of him..."

"Lester's probably got enough connections in the underworld that he's out of the country by now." Nathan handed his Sentinel a cup of coffee and settled into the chair next to him. "I'm more concerned with this mysterious buyer or buyers of Guides. Have you heard from Gary and David?"

"They just got off the elevator. And Gary says they found a girlfriend of one of the kidnappers."

A minute later the door opened and Gary stood back to allow David to enter. In his arms he carried a paper file box and he grinned as he placed it on the table. "Pay dirt! We thought we had found all the money they had left in the car but it turns out Bill Sims trusted his girlfriend with most of his share. Not only that, but a smart phone with pictures of Ezra and a data file with details of his daily routine."

"Let me see that." Jim took the phone and started flipping through the candid photos while Blair looked over his shoulder.

"Whoa! Look at that! Those shots were taking on the school grounds." Blair shook his head in shock. "But, that would mean someone at the school was in on it."

"Looks that way Chief. We'll have to run checks on the faculty, staff and students."

"Students? Jim, they're Guides in training."

"With bills to pay. And from what you've told me, pretty big ones at that." Jim looked over to where David was pulling out an evidence bag containing bundles of twenty dollar bills. "And someone was definitely willing to pay a lot money for Ezra."

"I'll say. There's over fifty thousand here and this is just a portion of Bill's half. His girlfriend thinks he and his partner may have been paid two hundred thousand for the job."

"For that kind of money you don't have to kidnap a Guide, you could just hire one." JD picked up a pack of bills and flipped the edges with his thumb. "I mean, before I met Buck I did a few Working Bond gigs for extra cash and ... Hey!"

Buck growled as he snatched the bundle of money from his Guide's hands.

Josiah laughed as he shook a finger at their youngest team member. "Not a good idea to talk about old Bonds where your Sentinel can hear you."

"Like in the same county? C'mon Buck, you know I ... Buck?" JD paused and placed a hand on his Sentinel's shoulder as he suddenly noticed how still the man had become. "What is it Buck? Which sense are you using?"

"Smell. Something on the money..."

"OK, lets do a filter. Don't try to identify the scent that caught your attention yet; let's get rid of all the other things that are obvious. You know the scent of the ink, mark it and move on. You've scented the blank paper before when we stumbled across those counterfeiters so mark the paper and the chemicals used to make it. Now I've handled it, so my scent will be there. David and Gary both probably touched it, and there's the smell of the plastic bag it was in, mark all those things and keep going."

Gary frowned skeptically at the working pair. "I found the money hidden in the girl's bedroom by sniffing it out but come on, it's money. Hundreds of people have probably handled it."

"JD, take the paper strap off the money and let Buck sniff just it." Chris leaned forward, his own nostrils flaring as he unconsciously turned his own sense of smell up a few degrees. "Now give him back the top and bottom bills. Those three items would have have the most contact with the hand of the person he's scenting."

"That's better." Buck closed his eyes and held first the money and then the paper strap against his nose. "A woman. Definitely a woman."

This time Gary rolled his eyes in disbelief. "C'mon. Ninety percent of all bank tellers are women and we found the money in the girlfriend's bedroom."

"Shhh." JD waved his free hand at the Cascade Sentinel. "You don't know Buck and the scents of women. It's almost eidetic. Buck? Don't Zone on me here. Listen to my voice while you start breaking it down. You know it is a woman, now filter for soap... perfume ... hand lotion ... finger nail polish ..."

"Ella! Ella Gaines!"

For a moment, dead silence filled the conference room. Buck's teammates stared at him in shock and confusion while the Cascade pairs exchanged puzzled glances.

"But she... why would she... where would she get this kind of...?" Nathan shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. She doesn't have that kind of money and was a Guide herself. Why would she have Ezra kidnapped? And how?"

Josiah pulled out his cell phone and began sending a text. "Last I heard she was still locked up in the psychiatric ward. But I'll double check to make sure."

"Hey!" Gary rapped the table with his knuckles to get the attention of the Denver team. "Who is Ella Gaines and why does her name make Larabee look like he's just seen a ghost?"

"Chris? I'm sorry. Look, let me check it again maybe I made a mistake..." Buck didn't need his enhanced vision to see the cold sweat on his best friend's face or the way Chris' pupils had dilated. He didn't really think he was mistaken, but to see Chris so shaken was hard to take.

"No. You ... I trust you. Look, I just, I need a drink... of water. I'll be right back. Go ahead and fill them in while I'm gone."

"Sure ol' dog. Just keep you hearing turned down for a bit."

Ellison frowned at the door as it clicked shut behind Larabee. If the short time he'd spent with the man he'd seen him angry, tired, worried and confused but this was the first time he'd seen him so visibly shaken. He had no doubt that whatever Buck was about to tell them was going to be difficult to hear.

"OK, look. I'm not going to sugar coat this but I'm not going to go into any details either. About a year and half after Sarah, Chris' wife was killed, Ella Gaines shows up. She had crossed paths with Chris during his college days but at the time he was both married and Bonded so even though she put the moves on him pretty strongly, nothing ever came of it. Well, it turned out she was a little... ah shit, the woman was bug fuck crazy. There's just no other way to describe it. She moved back to Denver for a new job as a motivational speaker."

"Your kidding. Was this before or after she went crazy?"

Josiah shook his head. "Nothing funny about this and I think her obsession with Chris may have started from their first meeting."

Buck drew in a deep breath before continuing. "Anyway, she looks up Chris and he agrees to meet and have dinner with her. From what he told me, she was pretty blunt in what she wanted which was sex, a Bond and marriage. In that order. Chris turned her down flat and told her to never come near him again. Next thing I know Chris' truck is found abandoned on the side of the road and we can't find a trace of him. Seventeen days. Almost three weeks. She had him locked up in cabin out in the middle of no where. Had a couple of low-life scum working with her; trying to ... to break Chris. He's still got some scars on his back from where they... ah hell."

"Yeah, we get the picture." Ellison had seen some pretty horrific things during his years on the force and his Guide still had some of his own scars form his time with Alex Barnes. In fact, he could hear Blair's heart beating faster and he guessed the young man was remembering those horrific months. Jim moved behind Blair's chair and rested his hands on his shoulders.

"Right, so we luck up and one of her goons comes into town for some supplies and gets liquored up in the process. Pulls out one of Chris' credit cards by mistake at a bar and we nailed his ass. Chris was once a Prime and pretty well respected so our Clan did the questioning. We had the location and the complete layout in about thirty minutes. Took us another thirty to get there. Beside the physical and mental stuff, Ella had also used a ton of drugs on Chris. He didn't recognize us at first. Fought us just like he'd been fighting them. Had to put restraints on him just to get him to the hospital. It was days before he was aware enough to know he was free."

"And Ella?"

"Oh, she was definitely over the deep end by then. Had one room that was set up like a shrine to Chris with pictures and mementos all over the place. Started screaming that we were stealing her Sentinel and that they were Bonded and Chris would die without her. None of which was true of course, but she had convinced herself that it was. Jail was no place for her so she was locked up in a mental hospital.

"Which is where she should still be." Chris stepped back into the room, his hair and the collar of his shirt both damp from where he must have splashed his face with water. "Josiah, anything?"

"Yes, but it's puzzling. Three months after she was institutionalized, Ella was moved to a private clinic here in Cascade."

"Who authorized that? Where did the money come from for the clinic? JD?"

"I'm on it." The young man had his laptop open and was soon typing furiously.

Blair shook his head. "But even if she did somehow arrange Ezra's kidnapping; why? She's a Guide. Albeit a crazy one but it would make more sense for her to try kidnapping Chris again... "

"Or hiring a procurement specialist who only works for very rich buyers."

Everyone stared at David who had moved around the table so that he could watch JD at work. Realizing that he had everyone's attention, he shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, it seems like too much of a coincidence for Ezra's kidnappers to be in a warehouse just a block down from where Chris is meeting with Hayden. And the money used to 'buy' Ezra has the sent of this Ella Gaines woman."

"Yeah, this is a picture of her." JD tilted his screen so that David could get a better look.

"Are you sure? But that's ..."

Everyone in the room suddenly jumped as Chris stood and slammed his hands down on the papers spread out in front of him. They watched in confusion as his hands tightened into fists, the papers crumpled and mangled between his clinched fingers. Even the Guides could hear his teeth grind as he bowed his head. When he spoke, every word came out as a growl.

"I'm. Gonna. Kill. Them."

At that same moment both Jim's and Blair's cellphones began to signal emergency calls. Chris looked up and even his own men backed away as his green eyes flashed.

"Yes? Yes this is Blair Sandburg. I … what? When? Where are they now? Yes, yes, we're on our way."

Jim finished his own similar conversation at the same moment and since every Sentinel in the room had listened in, they were all headed for the door at the same time, quickly filling in their Guides as they exited.


	15. Chapter 15

"You sure Chris won't mind us going to your school?" Vin studied the high brick wall and wrought iron gates of the Thorton School for Gifted Guides as he waited for Ezra to pay the taxi driver. "I mean, he seemed pretty uh…"

"Adamant?"

"Yeah, adamant about us staying at the hotel."

Ezra smiled as he returned his wallet to his pants pocket. "I believe Mr. Larabee's concern was primarily for your health and you yourself have stated repeatedly that you are, and I quote, "fine". Besides, he didn't say we _couldn't_ go to my school. And how could he expect me to stay the night at the hotel without proper attire or grooming supplies? Not to mention my computer and the book that I am currently reading. Games and television may be fine for the rest of you, but I prefer to indulge in pastimes that broaden my knowledge of the world."

"I get it Ez. You want some pajamas and a toothbrush and you was afraid of being bored. But what Chris said was, "stay put". Vin shook his head as he followed Ezra up to the small guardhouse next to the gate. "That kind of covers all the places outside the hotel. If we'd waited, he probably would have come with us."

"Yes well, Mr. Larabee is neither my father, my mother, my Sentinel nor my Clan Senior Prime therefore I choose to interpret his "stay put" as more of a suggestion than an actual order to be obeyed."

"But what about what we agreed to while in the jungle? You know, about going off on our own?"

"He meant individually. Which, I might point out, he did _first_ by leaving us at the hotel. As long as we, meaning you and I, stick together I don't foresee any problems. Besides, look on it as more practice for you in controlling your dials. Have you adjusted your sight to allow for the darkness and your sense of touch to block some of the cold?"

"Sight's fine. And with this coat you gave me I don't need a dial to block the cold." Vin pushed his hands deeper into the warm, fleece lined pockets as he spoke. "I really appreciate you letting me have it. Its got to be the nicest thing I've ever owned."

"Ah, well, of course it was one of my older jackets. I have several so I hardly ever wore that one. And Blair had mentioned that having something with my scent on it might help with maintaining your baselines so ..."

"Ez, you don't have to make excuses for doing something nice. When a person tells you 'thank you' all you've go to say is 'you're welcome'."

Ezra opened his mouth but closed it again without speaking. Finally, as they reached the gate he nodded his head. "You are right again. And you are quite welcome. And if you feel the need to reciprocate in some manner you might consider speaking my name correctly. I'm not sure I care for 'Ez'."

"Ez suits you. But how about I only use it when it's just you and me?"

"If you insist. Now, after you."

Vin hunched his shoulders as the Sentinel on guard duty admitted them through the gates of the school. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck try to stand as the older Sentinel blatantly scented Ezra as he walked past. While he was still new to the whole Sentinel/Guide program, that just didn't seem right. Letting his instincts take over, Vin stopped dead in his tracks and glared up at the man, a very faint growl escaping his lips. The Sentinel guard was unimpressed and let the smirk on his face show it. Everyone in the Clan had been informed of Standish's bonding but many of them didn't take it seriously; Henry Carlson being one of them.

"You got something to say kid?"

Henry's grin disappeared as a palm connected firmly with the back of his head. "We'll if he doesn't, I certainly do." Guide Jason Days followed up his head smack with a finger jab into his arrogant Sentinel's stomach. "That was rude and uncalled for and you know it. Now apologize to them both and hope they don't report you to the Seniors."

Carlson sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and gave the young pair a sincere if slightly grudging apology. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that. Won't happen again."

"Damn right it won't." Jason nodded to Vin and Ezra, "Honor to your Bond."

Ezra felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment as he returned the nod while grabbing Vin by his arm. "Yes, ah, thank you. Honor to yours as well." It took a firm tug to start his Sentinel walking and several steps before Vin finally stopped glaring at the guard over his shoulder.

As they rounded the building that housed the school library, Tanner pulled his arm free and stopped next to a street light; clearly refusing to budge another inch. "You know I can hear all them things you keep saying under your breath. Might as well just say them to my face."

"Fine!" Ezra rounded on him and began firing a barrage of questions. "What were you thinking? Were you thinking? Why did you growl at him? Do you realize that he could have challenged you to a fight?"

"He sniffed you."

Ezra waited but it quickly became apparent that there would be no further explanation without more questioning.

"Well of course he sniffed me; he's the gate guard! Part of his job is to make sure that no one brings something on the school grounds that is against the rules; things like drugs or weapons or alcohol. I get sniffed every time I come through the gate."

"Was more than just that." Vin hunched his shoulders again and clenched his fists in his jacket pockets. "When he sniffed you he wasn't looking for anything illegal. He was…" The new Sentinel had to pause because while his instincts knew what had happened, he didn't have the right words yet to explain it. "Checking you out. Your … our…" Vin finally waved a hand around his own head and then towards Ezra's.

"Bond?"

"Yeah, sort of." Vin shrugged his shoulders again and gave up trying to explain. "Look, it was just wrong OK? Even his Guide knew it; else why would he have jumped his case like that and made him apologize?"

Ezra opened his mouth but closed it again without speaking. He didn't really have an argument for that and he was saved having to think of one by the sudden arrival of several student Guides emerging from the darkness. Leading the group was a tall, gangly youth with thick, blond hair.

"Yo, Standish; didn't think to see you back here. Heard you'd decided to skip the final exams and find yourself a Sentinel off the streets." Paul Richardson smiled as he spoke, showing off his perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth. But anyone looking closely would have seen that the good humor was not mirrored in his dark, blue eyes.

Standish returned the false smile with one of his own and gave a negligent wave of one hand. "Not something I planned Paul, but the situation called for drastic measures. Since you've obviously heard of my bonding I'm sure you also heard of my kidnapping."

"Ah yes, the kidnapping." Paul slowly paced around Ezra and Vin, making no attempt to disguise his open appraisal of the young Sentinel. "Very convenient that, slipping off on your own for a nice dinner and then getting locked up in an old warehouse. A warehouse where an unBonded, Prime level Sentinel just happened to be lurking about."

Ezra kept his smile in place but there was no mistaking his growing agitation. "You left out the part about the Prime level Sentinel being only fourteen years old and completely untrained. And the fact that the kidnappers were ready to make their escape over my dead body."

Vin kept his eyes focused on Ezra, watching him for a clue as to how to react while he tracked the other Guide with his hearing. Being surrounded by so many teenagers, a few of them openly hostile, was making his skin crawl; but this kid Paul was the only one that felt like a real threat. It was a strange feeling because while a part of him felt like he needed to make the first move and eliminate the potential danger; there was another part insisting that these newcomers were like his Guide and not to be touched.

Paul came to a stop behind Vin, his expression taking on a slightly sinister cast, his eyes shadowed as he put his back to the light. "Yes, saved by your Blessed Protector."

As Paul finished speaking he made his move, thrusting out his left hand and grasping Vin by the back of his neck. Vin cried out and jerked his body forward but Paul followed him, his hand never losing contact with Tanner's neck as the young Sentinel fell to his knees.

"No!" Ezra lunged for his Sentinel but two of Paul's toadies had been waiting and were ready and eager to play their roles. Nick and Daryl grabbed Ezra's arms and pulled him back, one of them going so far as to put his hand over the boy's mouth.

"So, let's see just how strong this so called 'Bond' is, shall we?" Paul placed his second hand on Vin's forehead, ignoring the gasp of pain as he pushed against the walls of the Bond with his empathic powers.

To Vin it felt like someone was trying to squeeze his brain like a fresh lemon. He grabbed Paul's wrist but the feel of his skin only seemed to emphasize the sense that he was someone not to be harmed; regardless of the pain that he was inflicting.

Ezra pulled against the hands holding him and thrashed his head, trying to break free. He could feel Paul testing the Bond and while his empathic shields protected him from any pain or discomfort, he knew that Vin had no such shielding. As he struggled, Ezra remembered the lesson he had learned from Larabee while in the spirit plane; sometimes Guides could be called on to protect their Sentinels. A soft cry from Vin helped Ezra focus his anger and channel it into a course of action. Throwing his head back and stretching his jaws wide at the same time, Ezra managed to catch a portion of Daryl's hand between his front teeth. He didn't even have to break the skin before Daryl snatched it away with an outraged bellow. But Ezra didn't stop there; next he drove the hard heel of one of his custom made, genuine leather loafers into the ankle of the same boy he had just bitten. That was all it took to free his right hand which he used to effectively rabbit punch his way to total freedom. And that just left Richardson to deal with.

"Get away from my Sentinel!"

Paul stood nearly four inches taller than Ezra and outweighed him by about 20 pounds. So despite the fact that Standish had obviously won free of his cohorts Nick and Daryl, he felt no real need to do as Ezra demanded. In fact, quite the opposite. There obviously was a Bond between Standish and the kid Sentinel and a pretty strong one at that; but he was determined to keep pushing just out of pure spite and jealousy when suddenly, _"What?! A horse?"_

"Oww! Fuck!" Paul cried out and released his hold on Vin as fistfuls of his bleached blond hair were nearly yanked from his skull. Swinging wildly he struck Ezra on the shoulder, knocking the smaller teen back.

Stepping over the edge of the sidewalk, Ezra lost his balance and fell backwards into the narrow service street. He landed awkwardly on his right arm and gasped at the sudden, sharp pain from his shoulder. For a moment his vision went dark but as he rolled to his back he heard and felt a 'pop' as the joint realigned itself. At first, all he could do was gasp for breath while holding his arm tight to his chest. Then he heard the growl of a predator and felt a cold chill that had nothing to do with the pavement beneath him. "Vin! No! You can't!"

But Ezra was wrong. Confused, conflicted and in pain, his Guide hurt and threatened, Vin let his survival instincts take over; the same ones that had used a metal pipe to kill the two kidnappers in the warehouse. Blinking his eyes open, he no longer saw a group of teenage boys and girls; instead he saw a ring of animals. Some of the animals were already backing off, leaving the pack. Others though were standing their ground, showing their teeth, lifting their wings, lowering their horns, preparing to attack.

 _Break free of the ring. Attack the weakest. Look for cover. Back to a tree. Weapon? Branch. Danger?_ _A fox lay in the street and a copperhead_ _snake slithered toward it. A black horse stomped the ground around the snake but it was faint and its hooves kept missing the viper. The fox had to be protected from the snake; nothing else mattered._

"Vin stop!"

* * *

"Shit!" Henry stood just inside the gates of the school, his hearing trained on the events occurring out of sight on the dark campus. "Hurry up Jason! Someone's about to get their ass handed to 'em."

"Done! Carla's calling the dean. Mitch and Susan are on their way from the admin building. Kyle and Brent are coming here to cover the gate." Jason ran at his Sentinel's side as they followed the path taken by Ezra and Vin just minutes before.

"Yeah. Kyle, you better call an ambulance and tell Brent to get a hold of either of the Seniors or David and Gary. I do not want to be the one in charge of cleaning up this mess."

"Copy that Henry. Brent is calling now."

Henry had always thought that one of the perks of being a Sentinel was the fact that he didn't need walkie talkies or cell phones to communicate with the other Sentinels on his team. Part of their training had included the ability to focus their hearing on different areas of the campus at the same time so that they could track multiple events. Which meant that even as the Sentinels spoke with each other and their Guides, they were also listening to the fight taking place behind the library.

"Damn it!" It didn't take enhanced vision to see the damage that Vin had managed to inflict in less than a minute. The second security team arrived at the same time and together they flew into action. Henry and Jason took the lead and put themselves between the enraged Sentinel and his intended target. Henry put his arms up and placed his body directly in the path of Vin's attack while Jason gave Paul a hard shove towards the other student Guides being rounded up and hustled away by Mitch and Susan. "Watch that one's arm, it looks broken. This one might have a concussion. C'mon Richardson, save it for the dean."

 _The snake was getting away!_ Vin tried to dodge around the bighorn sheep that was suddenly in his path but the animal lowered it's head and countered his every move.

"Jason!? I don't want to hit a kid but he's not giving me much choice here!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm working on it." Jason was helping Ezra to his feet even as he spoke. "Are you OK? Anything broken? No? Then focus on your Sentinel and get him to come to you, now! Deep breaths and think of nothing but ice cream and puppies and pretty sunsets on the beach."

Ezra leaned on Jason's arm and drew in a deep, shuddering breath but let it out again in a yell as he watched Henry barely avoid another swing of Vin's club. "Vin! Stop!"

"Ezra! Not your voice! Not yet. Start with the Bond. Don't make us take him down. Now try it again, deep breath."

Start with the Bond. The Bond. Right. He could do this. Ezra closed his eyes and focused his mind on the Bond connecting him to Vin. The young Guide staggered and only Jason's hold on his jacket kept him on his feet as waves of anger and hate suddenly thundered through his mind. "I... I can't... this is too..."

"Concentrate! You're the only one who can do this. Concentrate Ezra."

Yes, concentrate. He could do this. Deep breath in. For his Sentinel. For Vin he could be...calm. Breath out. He could think of... open skies. Breath in. He could imagine...fields of summer flowers. For Vin he could see... sunshine glinting off a calm lake, perfect for swimming. Breath. And horses grazing peacefully nearby, waiting for their riders.

"Oh yes, that's good. Very, very good. Keep going Ezra, whatever you're doing, it's working."

Ezra didn't need Jason's confirmation of what he could feel within the Bond. He could feel the anger bleeding away as he focused on... Horses, running across a field under a blazing summer sun. And leading the heard, wild mane whipping in the wind, glossy tail streaming out behind, hooves thundering against the ground, a stallion. A stallion so black it looked like a shadow fleeing from the harsh sun. A... black...stallion...

"Oh shit. He's going to kill us."


	16. Chapter 16

Chris shot a quick glance to those riding in the truck with him. Blair and Jim were silent, both watching the road ahead with intensity but no sign of seeing anything out of the ordinary on the dark streets of their city.

 _'It's just me then. Great.'_

The ATF captain thought briefly of telling Blair what was happening but remembered the Guide's reaction to anything new and his enthusiasm for running tests.

 _'No, I'll just keep my mouth shut for now.'_ After all, so what if he kept seeing flashes of horses running alongside the truck or an entire herd crossing the street ahead? The visions weren't really causing any harm and he was sure they would stop as soon as he reached Ezra and Vin.

 _'They damn well better. No way am I paying for therapy.'  
_

* * *

There was a Sentinel and Guide pair waiting for them at the service entrance located at the back of the campus. The Guide gave Ellison directions to the dormitory building, which had been cleared of everyone except Ezra and Vin. Chris listened as the Sentinel turned his head and began speaking aloud, no doubt updating whoever was watching over the two boys.

"Henry? The cavalry has just arrived and I do mean cavalry. Not just Ellison and Sandburg; David and Gary are here plus five others I don't recognize. Yeah, I guess they would be. They're coming your way now."

Mitch watched the cars until they turned down the correct side street then gave Henry one more update. "Henry, we're locking the gate now and heading back over to the cafeteria to help watch the homeless kiddies." He paused for a moment, his head slightly turned as he listened for a reply then grinned as he answered, "Yeah right. What do I look like, your Guide?"

A hand on his chest stopped Mitch cold in his tracks and he couldn't help flinching when he looked down and saw the dangerous glint in his Guide's eyes.

"Excuse me? _'What do I look like, your Guide?'_ Was that some kind of 'sandwich' joke?" Susan pushed her Sentinel back a step as she spoke. "It was, wasn't it?"

"... ah, sorry. It just kinda slipped owwwww! Not the face!"

* * *

Through his Bond with the two teenagers, Chris had known the moment Vin was calm enough to listen to his Guide. He was still very agitated, but at least he wasn't trying to kill anyone. Of course, the focus of his anger had been removed and apparently the two boys were now safely ensconced in Ezra's room which was going a long way to helping calm the young Sentinel.

Chris stepped down from Ellison's truck and then did a quick sidestep to avoid the large raccoon that rushed passed him.

"Chris, you OK?" JD looked at his boss in concern as he reached out a hand to steady him.

"Yeah. Just caught off guard by that raccoon."

"Raccoon? Where?"

"Over there, next... to ..." Chris clinched his jaws shut. _'Ah hell. As if horses weren't bad enough.'_

Beneath the lights that lined the walk leading to the dormitory, Chris could clearly see his men and the Cascade Clan Seniors and Primes as they made their way to the front steps. Not so clearly, but none the less visible, he could also see a strange assortment of animals weaving their way among the unsuspecting humans. A bear, a wolf, a panther... _'What the hell is that thing? It's not an ostrich but damn it's a weird looking bird. Who would have that as a spirit guide?'_ Because that was what it had to be. It and all the other animals he was seeing had to be guides to those gathered. Why he was the only one seeing them was still a question.

 _'And I'll be damned before I ask Sandburg.'_

"Chris?"

Stepping away from JD, the rattled ATF captain just shook his head. "Never mind. Just my sight acting up, that's all." And he did his best not to flinch when the biggest hawk he'd ever seen suddenly glided across his path.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

As Chris reached the top step, having first walked through a badger and a giant river otter, he heard the sound of another car approaching. Those still gathered on the steps stopped to see who else had decided to join the party.

"Shaman Miyazaki!" Blair darted back down the stairs and hurried over to welcome his teacher. Chris watched as a wolf tried to playfully greet the Shaman's calico familiar but was studiously ignored. A red fox joined the pair causing the wolf to quickly back away.

Chris blinked his eyes. _'Weird fox. Why does it have three tails?'_

"Yes, yes. Of course I came; how could I not?" Miyazaki smiled and directed his next comment directly to Chris. "Such an interesting new fold. I'm sure the resulting form will be much enlightening."

"As long as it doesn't wind up with three heads... or tails."

Sentinel Toshiro merely smirked as he nodded a silent greeting.

Chris turned and entered the building, unconsciously adjusting his sight to compensate for the increased lighting. A corridor with doors on either side lay to the right while to the left was a staircase leading to the second floor. At the top of the stair stood a bighorn ram, it feet braced wide as it glared down at those gathered below. Feeling a sudden, irrational spike of anger, Chris moved to the front of the crowd and started up the stairs, taking them two at a time. The ram responded by lowering its head at the perceived threat; its stance clearly conveying its refusal to budge.

As he neared the top step, Chris watched as the ram faded to be replaced by a Sentinel sporting a bruised cheek with a small, ragged cut. Their eyes met and while the guarding Sentinel did backup enough to let Chris reach the top step, he did not allow the ATF captain to pass. Chris met and held the strange Sentinel's gaze and let his lip curl into a silent snarl. No longer offline, Larabee was a fully functioning Prime and the Sentinel in front of him was about to learn his place in the hierarchy.

"Henry. You need to step back now. Listen to me Henry, this isn't helping the situation and you don't need any more bruises tonight."

"I'd listen to your Guide if I were you, Henry."

Carlson tilted his head back and then slowly relaxed his stance. "Fine. But that Tanner kid is just starting to calm down. You go in like this and ..."

"You're in my way. Move."

"Henry!" Jason grabbed his Sentinel's arm and forcibly pulled him back. "Stop it! We've done our part, let them handle it now."

"Yes, and I want to know exactly what you intend to do about this."

As Jason and his Sentinel stepped back, an elderly man in a very fashionable business suit strode forward to take their place.

"This kind of behavior is totally unacceptable. There were students injured by that... viscous street thug . Who is going to take responsibility for such criminal behavior? If the parents of the students who were injured decide to press charges..."

"Dean Timberlake?" Blair deliberately put himself between the two men as he correctly sensed that Larabee was at the very limit of his patience. "Hi, I don't think we've met, I'm Blair Sandburg. I assure you that the Panther Clan will get to the bottom of this and by the end of our investigation the responsible parties will be identified and dealt with."

Timberlake's eyes widened and he sputtered a moment in outrage. "Investigation? What do you mean 'investigation'?! My students were attacked by that..."

"Sentinel. And it is my understanding that the Sentinel may have been acting in defense of his Guide. And I find it very interesting that _your_ student Guides would actually behave in such a manner that would provoke a Sentinel to take such action. You can rest assured that there will be a complete and thorough investigation into not only the events of tonight but also of this school's teaching and training methods."

"What?! Under whose authority?"

"Mine." Blair smiled brightly and tapped himself on the chest. "Senior. Guide. Prime."

* * *

Ezra sat bolt upright on his bed as his door was thrown open to reveal a very pissed off Chris Larabee.

"No! Vin! Don't….!"

But there was no stopping the young Sentinel who responded to the newest threat to his Guide by launching himself across the room; the branch still clutched tightly in his fist and raised to strike. Chris however, was ready for him and putting his years of training as an ATF officer to use, he disarmed and then pinned the enraged teen face down on the floor.

The whole thing happened so fast that Ezra was left blinking in astonishment, frozen in position with his hand still outstretched. "Wha….?"

Vin's growls and snarls filled the room as he twisted and kicked, trying to free himself. Chris held Vin's right arm tight to the middle of his back and captured his left using one knee. Then grabbing the back of Vin's neck with his free hand, Chris leaned forward and used his grip to force the young Sentinel to look him in the eyes.

"You don't challenge me, boy. Not now. Not ever."

Vin bared his teeth and strained his muscles even harder trying to break free.

"Mr. Larabee! Please…" Ezra stood but took only two steps before Chris' icy glare forced him back to the side of the bed.

"Sit. Down. Guide."

At first Ezra dropped back down on his bed without a word. He felt helpless to intervene on his Sentinel's behalf because of the energy that Chris was sending through their Bond. But then his own anger flared, bringing with it the same resolve and strength he had shown earlier in the night when his Sentinel had been threatened.

"No." Surging to his feet, Ezra moved until he was standing next to the two Sentinels. Kneeling down, he placed one hand on Chris' shoulder and the other on Vin's. "My Sentinel. My responsibility."

Chris snarled but did not back down. "He needs to learn his place. He does not challenge me."

At that moment a wordless howl filled the dormitory as Vin continued to fight with everything he had; body, mind and soul. He could sense his Guide's divided attention and the intrusion of the other Sentinel in their Bond. Mentally, he pushed back against the artificial calmness being forced on him by the Guide while physically straining against the strength of the Sentinel pinning him to the floor.

"My god! He's like a wild animal!" Dean Timberlake's cry of displeasure sounded from the crowded hallway where he still stood with the campus guards as well as Larabee's team. Blair and Jim were blocking the door, closely monitoring the events unfolding within; but as the dean's words registered, Blair suddenly paled and staggered against his Sentinel.

"Blair?" Jim supported his friend and Guide and pulled him back from the room. "What is it? Wha..?"

"Animal… wild animal…" Something was fighting its way to the forefront of Blair's mind as pieces began clicking into place. _'Fighting for survival... alone... no family... growing up wild...wild...'_

"Oh... but that's...that's..."

"Blair? What is it?"

"Feral! A Feral Sentinel!" Turning toward the stairs, Blair pushed his way to the top step where he could look down on the Shaman waiting below. "We had it all wrong! We've been trying to find information on two Sentinels Bonding but we should have been researching Feral Sentinels."

"Ah! Of course! I am an arrogant old fool not to have seen it myself."

"There hasn't been one for hundreds of years; how could we have known what to look for? But if Vin really is a Feral, how do we handle him?"

"Tell me what is happening."

While Blair quickly described the events unfolding in the room, Buck and Josiah spoke with their Guides.

"Any of you ever hear of a Feral Sentinel?" Buck shared confused looks with the rest of his team.

Josiah looked thoughtful as he listened to Blair speaking with the Shaman. "Seems to me I've read something …Sentinel Tribes? No… Packs. With Alphas instead of Senior Primes."

"Well, I guess our team could be considered a Pack with Chris as our Alpha." JD's observation was rewarded with nods of agreement. "But where would a Feral Sentinel fit in? I mean, he couldn't, could he? Not if he won't submit to the Alpha Sentinel."

"Not to the Alpha… not _just_ to the Alpha." Josiah looked over and met the wide eyed stare of the Senior Guide Prime.

"The whole Pack. And not submit; accept. You have to accept Vin and he has to accept you as his Pack. Because the Pack becomes his only family." Blair looked at each of the ATF officers in turn. The words just felt so right; this had to be the answer. "Can you? Can you accept him for who and what he is? Unconditionally? No hesitations? No holding back? Both him and his Guide?"

Buck snorted and eased his way past Ellison and the others standing in the hallway. "C'mon JD, I'm meeting a couple of lovely ladies for dinner tonight and I don't want to be late. So Scruffy here better get his act together and come to terms with the fact he just got a whole bunch of big brothers that aren't gonna put up with anymore nonsense."

"Including just pushing his food around on his plate when he should be eating. Once we get to Denver I'll set him up with a diet plan that includes more protein." Nathan looked over at Josiah as they moved toward the door. "I think he'd like some of your chili variations. We can make up large batches and Chris can put them in his deep freeze."

"Wow. You know what this means?" JD pulled himself up straight as he marched after his Sentinel. "I won't be the youngest anymore, so no more 'Kid' or 'Junior' or 'Son' or …."

"Sorry Son," Josiah smiled as he contentedly followed his Pack into Ezra's room. "There are some things that won't ever change no matter the number of years."

Blair was about to follow the determined ATF team when he spotted motion from the corner of his eye. Turning back to the stairs, he gasped and froze in place.

"Blair? What's wrong?" Jim stopped talking as he joined his Guide and saw for himself what had Blair so transfixed.

Flowing through front door was a pack of the biggest wolves Ellison had ever seen. They ghosted silently into the lobby, their eyes faintly glowing in the light as they approached the stairs. Gary and David stood silently staring as the wolves passed to either side of them. The leader, solid black and larger than all the rest, paused just a moment to consider the Shaman and his Sentinel standing calmly to one side. Miyazaki and Toshiro both bowed in greeting then watched as the wolves glided up the stairs. Blair and Ellison flattened themselves against the wall as the alpha topped the stairs, pausing to examine them as well. But this time he seemed to take an extra few seconds to observe the Dark pair and when he finally turned away, both Jim and Blair had the distinct feeling that they had been judged and found worthy. Albeit just barely. The other four wolves glided past them without pausing; three large males of all about the same size and one slightly smaller. They disappeared into the room behind the ATF team and a stillness of anticipation descended on the dorm.

* * *

Something had changed. Chris could feel it and through the Bond he could tell that Ezra was sensing it too. In his arms, Vin remained tense but stopped his frantic struggles. His breath came in ragged pants as he twisted his neck to watch the Denver Sentinels and Guides enter the room. But it wasn't just men he saw, there was suddenly a large black wolf closely followed by four others. They entered the room and circled the men who arranged themselves around their leader and the two newest members of their Pack.

"What... what's going on?" Ezra stared wide eyed at the wolves and the ATF team filling his room.

"Buck?" Chris growled the name as he too warily eyed the wolves, in particular the black one that felt oddly familiar.

"We got it all figured out ol' dog. Or should I say ol' wolf?" Buck crouched down on the floor facing Ezra and rested his hand on Vin's head. "Ez and Scruffy here are being welcomed into the Pack; whether they like it or not."

Vin jerked his head to one side but couldn't escape the serious ruffling of his hair. "Cut it out!"

"Vin! You talked! You're back!" Ezra sagged with relief as he felt the anger and aggression bleed away leaving simple annoyance and confusion; two emotions he felt more than capable of dealing with, having experienced so much of them himself in the last few weeks. "And please Mr. Wilmington, don't call me 'Ez'."

"G'off me. I can't breath. And I ain't scruffy. They gave me a haircut at the hospital."

Reassured by their Bond, Chris eased back and helped Vin up into a sitting position. Vin warily eyed not only the wolves, but also the men who were smiling at him. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know as well." Chris looked to Josiah who had taken possession of Ezra's very nice, leather desk chair instead of trying to find a place on the floor. "Think you could fill us in since it looks like we're at the center of all this?"

Josiah scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "Well, it seems that..."

"Vin isn't just a Prime Sentinel; Blair thinks he may be something called a Feral Sentinel and you were able to Bond with him and Ezra because your actually an Alpha Prime Sentinel instead of a Senior Prime Sentinel. And I bet that would make Buck a Beta since he's kind of like your second in command." JD grinned happily as he plunked down in front of his stunned audience. Next to him, the smallest of the wolves also sat, it's mouth slightly open and its ears perked forward. Looking from one to the other, Buck almost laughed out loud at how much the two resembled each other.

"I'm a what?" Vin frowned and Ezra could feel a faint stirring of panic.

"It's just another type of Sentinel, that's all." Nathan quickly tried to reassure the teen but it was too late.

"Another type. Different. Special." Vin's hands tightened into fists as he looked around the crowded room. "Why the hell can't I be normal at something just once? Why do I always have to be the damn freak show?"

"Vin, stop."

"Never had a dad. My mom got sick and died, then my Grandfather, and I wound up in foster homes but I screwed those up too. Never could do anything right. Always got sent back to the center. Got into fights at the schools. Couldn't learn as fast as the other kids. I'm too stupid to read. I'm all messed up. I hurt people. I killed those men! I did it! I remember picking up the pipe. I murdered ..."

"Stop!" Ezra threw his arms around Vin's shoulders and hugged him tight. "Stop it Vin! Just... please. Stop. You are not messed up and you're not stupid. You saved me. You heard my heartbeat and you came for me when no one else did. Out of all the Guides in the world, you chose me. You're my Sentinel. My blessed protector. My friend. You're... you're perfect."

Tears ran down Vin's cheeks as he listened to Ezra's words. Words he knew that Ezra believed to be the truth. Because his Guide would never lie to him. His Guide. His friend. Someone he could trust. "All I ever wanted...was a place...to belong. A family..."

"And you have that." Chris put his arms around both boys and pulled them close. "Now we're a family. All of us."And at last Chris found what he had been missing for a very long time but until that moment, he hadn't realized what it was. A family. Someone to watch over and care for. And a future to actually look forward to. A reason to live other than revenge.

The wolves crowded close to the trio and for a moment all that could be seen was a shifting pile of furry bodies and waving tails. When they finally separated, the alpha was sitting next to Chris and beside him were two new wolves. They were both obviously young; one with a slight reddish tint to his fur and the other a beautiful combination of silver-grey and black.

"Well, would you look at that." Buck smiled even as he gave a loud sniff. "Guess you ain't so scruffy after all."

Nathan found a box of tissues and began surreptitiously passing them around the room.

Looking from the new cubs to his men, Chris smiled for the first time that evening. "Look at us, not a dry eye in the bunch. Some tough ATF officers we turned out to be."

Vin pulled slightly away and wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, he stared down at his hands clasped in his lap. "I...uh...guess me and Ezra are sort of in trouble...for tonight."

"Nah. Not too bad." Buck patted the young Sentinel on the shoulder. "You did sneak off without telling Chris so you'll probably get grounded for that but the rest wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, but none of it would have happened if ..."

"Hey, tomorrow, OK? Vin, look at me." Chris waited until he could see the blue of one of Vin's eyes and gently brushed the bangs back from the other. "For tonight, we're going to focus on what's most important, and that's you and Ezra. First, are either of you hurt?"

"Vin's hands..."

"Ez fell on his shoulder..."

"I assure you my shoulder is perfectly..."

"My hands are fine..."

Chris raised his own hands to stop the denials. "Anything that needs a trip to the hospital? No? OK, in that case Ezra, pack whatever you can't live without for a few days. Vin and JD can give you hand if your shoulder is bothering you. The plan is to head straight back to the hotel and have dinner delivered to the room. Everything else can wait until tomorrow. Late tomorrow."

Ezra allowed JD to give him a hand standing up while Buck simply lifted Vin to his feet. Turning to his bed, Ezra stopped and then shot a look of pure outrage at Wilmington. "What is your wolf doing on my bed?"

Everyone looked and sure enough, there was a wolf on Ezra's bed. A very happy wolf, squirming on its back with its feet in the air and its tongue lolling out as its tail beat against the mattress.

"Now wait a minute! What makes you think that's my wolf?"

The smaller of the grey wolves jumped up on the bed and the two began a mock fight among the blankets and sheets. Everyone smiled at the antics and Nathan patted Buck on the shoulder. "Oh, it's yours alright. And that other one is JD's.

The two cubs moved over to the bed and after watching the bigger wolves playing for a moment, they too jumped up and joined the fray. Smiles became grins as the battle quickly became three against one.

"Well that's not fair." Wilmington looked to the wolves sitting next to Josiah and Nathan as he spoke. "What about you two? Why aren't you helping?"

The largest of the greys rose to his feet and ambled over to the bed. But instead of joining in on the play, he picked the very center of the bed to lay down on, pinning underneath his body whoever happened to be in the way.

"Hmmph, well, so much for that."

The final grey jumped on the bed and after giving the two youngest a quick once-over, it too stretched out, taking up almost a quarter of the space. With no room left to play, the other wolves settled down and soon there was a contented pile of bodies covering Ezra's bed like a very thick, furry comforter.

Chris looked at the alpha wolf still sitting next to him and then nodded his head toward the others. "Go on, you know you want to."

It probably didn't really give a sigh of resignation, but that was the distinct impression that Chris got as his new spirit guide stood and gave himself a good shake before joining his pack on the bed. Chris looked around the room at his men, his Pack, and felt a sense of peace. He didn't know what the future had in store for him and his new family, but he knew that whatever happened, they would face it together.

As the spirit guides faded from sight, Chris drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Giving himself a small mental shake, he stepped to the door where the Panther Clan Senior Primes stood in respectful silence. But then Ellison grinned and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I've got to hand it to you Denver, you put on quite a show. Can't wait to see what you have planned for an encore."

"Sorry to disappoint, but that was it for the Cascade performance. As soon as we can get tickets, I'm taking this act back to Colorado."

"Road show huh? Let me make a couple of phone calls and I might be able to get you some star treatment. First class all the way."

Watching his men trying to help Ezra and Vin pack a suitcase while in a room that was suddenly way too small for the number of bodies crammed into it, Chris rubbed the back of his neck and gave a weary sigh. "Just get us home before something else happens. I don't care what it takes or how many people I wind up owing favors to, just so long as I get to handle the next crisis from my home territory. That's all I ask."

Blair gave the Alpha Sentinel an earnest nod of agreement. "We'll do our best man, I swear it."


	17. Chapter 17

"David? Are you sure this can't wait until tomorrow? Because, I've got to tell you man, I am beat, I mean, like beyond tired." Blair slumped down in the chair in the empty hotel lobby and stretched his legs out in front of him. "I know I should be making notes about what happened at the dorm because this is huge and I'm sure there are going to be a lot of questions but we'll have to be careful and keep Vin and Ezra's names out of it and..."

"Blair…"

"I'd love to do some tests but I can only imagine what Larabee's reaction to that would be but maybe if I give them some time to get settled back in Denver."

"Blair…."

"I mean, a short trip to Colorado should be doable, don't you think? You and Gary could handle things here for a few days while we're gone."

Sighing deeply, David stood and placed the object he had been holding in his hands on the coffee table in front of Blair.

Blair frowned as he looked from the plastic cube to his fellow Guide. "That's a white-noise generator."

"Yes, I borrowed it from Ezra's room. Blair, I need to tell you something but I don't want Chris and his team to hear this until I've had a chance to do more research."

Suddenly feeling way more awake than he really wanted to, Blair sat forward in his chair. "OK, now you've got me worried. Should we get Gary and Jim so they can hear this as well? Or if it's this serious, maybe we should head to the office first."

Before David could answer, the two Sentinels in question walked up with twin frowns of concern.

"What's with the box, Chief? You know how I feel about those things."

Jim was referring to his and Blair's first few weeks of Bonding when Blair had attempted to hide his panic attacks and other moments of stress by using state of the art white-noise generators. What Sandburg had failed to take into account was that his Sentinel was always tuned into his heartbeat, even if it was just on a subconscious level. To suddenly lose that connection was unnerving and despite the reassurance of the Bond, Jim always felt compelled to search out his Guide to make visually sure he was safe.

"That's my fault, not Blair's." David accepted his Sentinel's hand on the back of his neck that pulled him close for a quick scenting. "It was the only way I could think of to talk to Blair without Larabee hearing us. I suppose it could wait until we get back to headquarters, but I think we may need to call in some support before we leave."

Blair stood and also allowed his Sentinel to crowd up close to his back. He knew that they were all tired and that the stressful events of the day were partly to blame for the Sentinel's behavior. It was hard to believe that just that morning they had all been gathered around a hospital bed waiting for Vin to recover from a massive sensory overload.

"OK, so I guess that answers my first question; obviously this can't wait until the morning."

"No, I'm sorry, I don't think it can." David drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes for just a moment. Breathing out, he met the concerned gave of his Senior Guide Prime and hesitantly at first, started trying to explain his concern.

"Before we went to Ezra's school, when we were all in the conference room talking about the woman Ella Gaines, JD started pulling up some information on his laptop." David paused and unconsciously wrapped his arms around his body as if suddenly cold. Gary detected the slight increase in his Guide's respiration and heartbeat and pulled the smaller man tight against his chest.

"David?"

"JD had pulled up the arrest report for Ella Gaines and… it had a picture of her. Blair, I think… no, I'm sure I recognized her."

"What? You mean you've seen her? Here?"

"Not in person, a photograph. In Ezra's file. A picture of him… with his mother." David felt his Sentinel's arms tighten convulsively around his shoulders as he met the shocked stares of Blair and Ellison. "I'm positive that Ella Gaines and Maude Standish Hampton are the same person."

* * *

Ellison looked up from his computer screen and frowned as Gary entered the room carrying two large, steaming, styrofoam cups. "I'm not sure my blood pressure can take any more caffeine tonight."

"More like 'this morning' and it's decaffeinated tea. Blair fixed it. Said something about 'antioxidants and natural herbal infusions'. I wasn't going to drink it but he said you've had it before and lived so…"

"Yeah, it's not too bad. Especially if he put some honey in it." Ellison took a quick sniff of the cup and nodded his head. "Which he did."

After giving Gary a chance to sit down and try a sip of the tea, Jim asked him for an update on the security arrangements at the hotel where the ATF team was housed.

"I've got Laura and Kristy inside the lobby, Rick and Jamil are watching the streets. I've also put an extra patrol car on that beat and a plainclothes officer helping out at the front desk. They'll do a four hour shift and then rotate out."

Ellison nodded his head in approval then turned back to his computer. "That sounds good. I want to keep at least two Sentinel/Guide teams on watch at all times. And make sure everyone has seen pictures of Hayden, Lester and Ezra's mother."

Gary frowned in consternation. "It just doesn't seem possible. How could Maude Standish raise a son while at the same time leading a double life as Ella Gaines?"

Jim turned his laptop around so that Gary could see the spreadsheet with two columns of dates. One column was headed 'Gaines' and the other 'Standish'. "Maude Standish had a knack for marrying old money. She is, or was, a modern day 'black widow'. The men she married either died of natural causes within a year or two of their wedding or of unfortunate accidents that were never proven otherwise."

"And no one has ever launched an investigation or raised concerns about her growing list of ex-husbands?"

"No one ever had a reason to. She married men that either had no families looking to inherit or she made sure there as a prenuptial agreement that met with the approval of any legal heirs. That way there were never any hard feelings when it came time to distribute the wealth."

"OK, so that was how she got away with building her fortune as Maude Standish, but how could she slip off to be Ella Gaines without Ezra finding out?"

"Modern technology and lots of boarding schools. Not to mention a couple of families that were willing to keep Ezra for a time after the funerals. David is pulling Ezra's cell phone and internet records now and I'm sure we'll see regular contacts with his mother even while she was away being Gaines."

"Except for the three months immediately following the attack on Captain Larabee." David and Blair walked into the conference room together, with David brandishing a flash drive in one hand. "Records show that Ezra's last call to his mother was approximately one week before Larabee was kidnapped. He didn't speak with her again for almost four months."

"Which is when she would have been locked up in the sanatorium before being transferred to 'Sheffield Haven'. She shouldn't have had access to a phone during that time." Ellison shook his head as he accepted the thumb drive and downloaded its file onto his computer while Gary quickly filled the two Guides in on their 'black widow' theory. "She had to have had help from the outside. Someone that knew who Gaines really was, what her plans were and was able to pull strings to get her transferred to the private clinic."

"Unfortunately, we'll have to wait on the court order to get any information from the clinic. Right now we can't even confirm she was ever actually admitted." David frowned as he studied the screen on his own computer. "Sheffield Haven has some serious money backing it."

"And speaking of plans," Blair spoke up from his seat next to his Sentinel. "What possible motive could she have had for kidnapping her own son now? I mean, if she wanted to see him or take him out of the school, why not just come back and claim him or send for him? We would have no way to know she was Gaines and thanks to our Clan predecessors, Ezra wasn't even on our radar."

Ellison leaned back in his chair as he mused aloud, "We've got to take into consideration that by this point Maude Standish is no longer sane. Just how far over the psychotic edge she's gone will be in her medical records but we won't get those without the court order."

"Yes, but being crazy doesn't necessarily make her less intelligent or conniving." David caught everyone's attention as he began ticking off points proving his theory. "She's had years of experience arranging accidental deaths for her husbands that left her clear of any suspicions. Since she met Larabee in college as Ella Gaines, we know that she's also had years of experience living a double life. Everything she's done has pointed to careful planning and preparation with specific goals in mind. If she did arrange Ezra's kidnapping and the trap for Larabee and his men, she must have had a reason."

"So, let's try looking at it from the psychotic bitch viewpoint." Gary ignored his Guide's frown of disapproval and continued with his own list of perceived facts. "First, Gaines meets Larabee and decides he's the only Sentinel for her but can't have him because he's already Bonded to a Guide."

"Not just Bonded, he's also married to her."

"Yeah, well that wouldn't have stopped … her…" Gary's eyes widened and everyone in the room froze as they all suddenly arrived at the same, awful realization.

"Shit. If she arranged the deaths of all her husbands; how hard would it have been for her to kill Larabee's wife and make it look like the bomb was meant for him?"

"And then played it smart and gave him a chance to get over his grief before moving in to try and claim him." Ellison growled low in his chest as he surged to his feet and began pacing around the confines of the room. "She was probably so fixated on the belief that Larabee was her Sentinel that she didn't even consider the possibility that he might have died as well."

"Oh man." Blair ran shaking hands through his hair as his mind raced through all the ramifications if what they were considering was indeed true. "Oh. Man. We're calling her Ella Gaines but we are really talking about Ezra's mother. We're actually saying that not only has she killed multiple men just for money; but that she also killed Chris' wife and son just so she could Bond with him. How… if it's true… how are we going to tell him? How is this going to effect his Bond with Chris?"

Jim stopped pacing to rest his hands on Blair's shoulders. "Right now we're just guessing. Like you said, 'if it's true'. We've got to get more evidence. First we need to confirm whether or not Ella Gaines and Maude Standish are the same person. And if we are dealing with just one psychotic Guide, we need to find her and get her contained before she can do anymore harm."

Gary took his data pad out and began flipping through his notes of the tasks he had lined up. "In the morning we'll start reviewing the financial records of the students and staff at Thornton as well as conduct interviews. I think there might have been more behind the attack on Vin and Ezra than just Sentinel envy. And someone there took those pictures of Ezra for the kidnappers."

Shaking his head, Blair leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "There is something definitely not right at that school. Guides should never have been able to attack a Sentinel like that or even been willing to just stand by and watch. I think I should personally review the testing that was done and maybe even require an independent verification."

"I can help with that after I..." David paused as a sudden yawn caught him off guard. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize; I'm right there with you." Blair stood and gave his back a good stretch. "I think we'll all work better tomorrow if we can get a few hours of sleep. Hopefully Larabee was serious when he said 'late tomorrow.'

* * *

"Morning, Ez."

"Mph. Tmzit?"

"Little after eight."

"Ghdlwd. Gwy."

"Can't go away. We're supposed to stick together, remember?"

"Iylshootu."

"No you won't. C'mon Ez, you need to wake up. Chris already ordered breakfast and it's your turn in the bathroom."

"..."

"I heard that too. And while you were asleep Chris taught me how to listen to your insides and I can tell you've got to…."

Vin grinned and backed away from the bed, easily dodging the pillow aimed at his head. Before he could say anything else, Ezra threw back his covers and stomped off to the bathroom. And if the door didn't exactly slam, it was certainly closed very firmly.

"Told you it would work." Chris spoke without looking up from his phone as Vin walked past him to take a seat on the couch.

"Yeah. But it was kind of mean. Wasn't going to do it but then he dropped the F-bomb so I figured he had it coming."

"Definitely not a morning person."

"Reckon not."

After a few more minutes of catching up on his emails, Chris put his phone away and focused his attention on the teen sitting across from him. It turned out both Sentinels were habitual early risers, despite whatever events might have happened the night before. Chris felt like five miles of bad road and judging by the dark bags under Vin's eyes, he figured that the boy had to be feeling about the same.

Vin had picked up the tablet that JD had left for him and was idly swiping through the screens. For someone who had never touched or used one of the digital devises until a couple of weeks ago, he had taken to it pretty quickly. According to JD, Vin appeared to be spending most of his time playing games where he turned zombies into plants or built mines. Neither of which sounded really appealing to Chris but then, the last game he remembered playing was something with colored blocks that dropped down and had to be fitted together in a certain order to win.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Chris smiled and shook his head. "Sorry. Wool gathering. I was trying to wait for breakfast to have a second pot of coffee but maybe I'll start one brewing now."

"As fine as this establishment is, surely we can do better than foil bags of ground up, god only knows what kind of beans." Ezra entered the sitting area of the suite looking refreshed and none the worse for his trying events of the day before. While he was definitely not a morning person, he was use to operating on little or no sleep. He was also well practiced in getting ready quickly after waking up, as he usually slept right up until the very last minute before having to be somewhere.

"You're forgetting it's a 'Sentinel friendly' hotel. The coffee is decent enough." Chris walked over to the brewer, totally ignoring Ezra's shudder of revulsion.

"Ez likes those super sweet coffees from Starbucks that have chocolate in them."

"Mocha lattes."

"Yeah, them things." Vin looked up from his game and gave a small frown as he looked around the room. "I hear something buzzing. Is that the phone?"

"Yes, Sentinel friendly also means no loud or sharp noises." Chris set aside the bag of coffee he had been about to open and picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes, this is Captain Larabee. A Fedex package? What kind? What's the shipper name and address? No, no problem. I'll send one of my men down to pick it up. Thanks."

Chris frowned as he hung up the hotel phone and reached for his cell.

"Something wrong with getting a box from your office in Denver?" Vin and Ezra both showed looks of concern as they watched Chris start to pace.

"It's probably OK. And don't listen in to my phone calls."

"JD, did you request any documents be sent to my attention? There's a Fedex box at the front desk; take Buck with you and go check it out. Well pour a bucket of ice water on him if you have to. No, if I had wanted Josiah to do it I would have said 'take Josiah'. Buck has the better nose for this sort of thing. That's exactly what I mean. Call me as soon as you know what's inside."

"You think someone might have sent you a bomb?!" Vin stood and unconsciously put himself in a defensive position slightly in front of his Guide.

"What did I just tell you about listening to my calls?"

"I'm sorry, it just happens. I kind of tune in and can't tune out."

"It's called a 'dial' kid, learn to use it."

"What do you think I've been trying to do!?"

"Enough," Ezra stepped between his two Sentinels, holding his hands up to halt the angry back and forth exchange. "Growling and yelling about dials and senses will accomplish nothing productive and merely serves to distract us from the more serious issue at hand; namely the question of whether or no we should be standing here or evacuating the building."

* * *

"Ellison here. What kind of box? Did you check it out? What did Larabee say? Right. Yeah, keep me updated."

Blair stepped out of his bedroom as Jim finished his call. Taking the elastic band from between his teeth, he finished pulling back his hair as he asked, "Something happening at the hotel?"

Jim nodded and swapped his ceramic cup for an insulated travel mug with a lid before pouring his coffee. "Yeah, that was our agent on the front desk. Larabee just had a box delivered; the flat kind that's good for documents. May be nothing, but according to Tom, it sounded like it was unexpected."

Heaving an exaggerated sigh, Blair turned back to his room to grab his backpack and laptop. "So much for a late start. Give me five minutes and I should be good to go."

* * *

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose and began counting to ten in his head. He only made it to the number four when a quiet knock on the door signaled the arrival of breakfast. "No, we do not need to evacuate the hotel. JD will call back as soon as he knows what is in the box."

"Good morning sir. Breakfast for three?"

"Yeah, good timing." Chris sniffed appreciatively as the hotel employee wheeled the loaded cart over to the small table and began setting out the plates of food. Ezra might turn his nose up at cheap coffee, but Chris was on the verge of zoning on the heavenly smell coming from the steaming carafe

"Look, let's table this until after breakfast. We're all sleep deprived and it's not something we have to deal with immediately."

"Yes, well I for one would be less sleep deprived if my bodily functions had not been the subject of Sentinel scrutiny at such an ungodly hour." Ezra fixed himself a cup of coffee and took a dubious sniff while Vin began pouring a liberal amount of syrup onto his stack of pancakes.

Chris just shook his head and poured his own cup of coffee but paused when Vin made a sound of disgust and dropped his fork back on his plate. "What's wrong?"

"Stuff taste all bitter and salty. Not sweet at all."

"Probably just your senses acting up." Ezra set aside his own meal of scrambled eggs and toast to focus his full attention on his Sentinel. "Drink some water to clear your palate and we'll run through a quick baseline set. It should be fairly easy to fix. As Mr. Larabee said, we are all tired this morning, controls are bound to slip."

Chris didn't need the pointed stare or lifted eyebrow in his direction to know that Ezra's last comment had been aimed directly at him. Yes, as annoying as it was to admit, Standish was right and Chris needed to apologize for his earlier outburst. But he would wait and give Ezra a chance to fix Vin's sense of taste so he could eat.

"So, the salt taste as it should and the milk; it appears to be just the sweet syrup you are having a problem with. Try some without the pancakes."

"Bleah. Even worse." Vin grabbed his bottle of water and took a big swallow to wash the nasty flavor out of his mouth.

"Try him on some of the jelly, see if it is everything sweet or just the syrup."

* * *

Jim and Blair were halfway to the hotel when Ellison's phone rang again. "Ellison. Are you sure? Which direction was he headed? Away from the hotel? Follow him but don't get too close; let the police pick him up. Call me back when he's been secured."

Blair braced himself against the door of the truck as Jim accelerated through a yellow light. "Let me guess, someone spotted Lester?"

"Don tagged him on the sidewalk across the street from the hotel. Thing is, he's headed East, away from the building. Don and Laura are following him until the patrol can pick him up. Call David, have him and Gary meet us at the hotel. I have a bad feeling about this."

* * *

"No, it still taste bad. And I'm tellin' ya it ain't my stupid dials!" Vin tossed the fork back on the plate and pushed away from the table. The food smelled wonderful and it was frustrating that everyone else's choices for breakfast tasted just fine to him.

Chris frowned and started to reach for the bottle of syrup himself when his cell phone rang once more. Expecting it to be JD or Buck calling about the mysterious box, he didn't bother to look at the caller ID before answering.

"Larabee."

"Hello Chris. Have you missed me?"

He couldn't swallow as bile rose in the back of his throat and his lungs refused to draw another breath. It was cold and his arms ached from being pulled tight behind his back by leather straps.

"I've missed you."

He felt his heart miss a beat and the edges of his vision filled with darkness. He was blindfolded and the bottoms of his feet felt blistered and raw.

"I know it wasn't your fault and soon we'll be together again."

He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him and had to lock his knees to keep from staggering. The bare floor was cold, and in the dark, long hours before the dawn of another hellish day, the silence covered him like a shroud and he prayed for an end to the pain and torment. It would be so easy, to just give in, to let go, surrender. Accept all the lies as truths, and imprisonment as freedom, and the pain would end. Forget the past….

But … he couldn't...

Something… a sound… from far away… so faint… he had to hold his breath to hear it.

What was it...?

A cry...?

Something... some animal... alone... desperate to be heard...

Desperate... despair...

Howling...

* * *

"This is Blair. Hayden? Are you sure?" Blair shot a worried look at his partner as they pulled up in front of the hotel. "Which way was he headed?"

"Tell Rick to break off the pursuit and get back here." Ellison took just a moment to unholster his gun and give it a quick check. "Divide and conquer. The threat is here and my guess is it's happening in Larabee's room right now. I can't hear anything. Try to reach him on his phone."

"Straight to voice-mail. I'll try Buck and JD."

"Here's Gary and David, let's move."

* * *

"Chris? What's...?

Ezra had been caught off guard by the sudden flood of dark emotions through his link with Chris and it had taken him a moment to separate himself from the torrent. Instinctively he cut himself off from the emotions, raising barriers he normally kept down when in the presence of his Sentinel. Now that he was able to think clearly once more, he could see that the ATF officer was standing frozen in place, his eyes staring fixedly straight ahead, his face pale as death, his breaths ragged and shallow.

"Ez...ra. Don't...feel...so good."

At that same moment Vin suddenly gagged and pushed himself away from the table. "Somethin's ... not right."

The young Sentinel tried to stand up straight but fell to his knees as he wrapped his arms tight around his chest, groaning with pain.

"Vin!" He didn't have a choice. Chris was suffering emotionally but Vin was in real, physical distress and needed his attention first. Ezra rounded the table and knelt at his Sentinel's side. "What is it? What's wrong? Is it your stomach?"

"Stomach. Hea..head. Hurts. Bad. Gonna..."

Vin fell forward on his hands and began throwing up everything he'd had to eat and drink just a few moments before. It only took a few seconds for his stomach to empty it's meager contents but the retching and dry heaves continued unabated. Tears streamed down Vin's cheeks and in between the gagging he couldn't help the whimpers and moans of pain as his head pounded and every muscle in his body began to tighten and cramp.

"Oh my god! Vin!" Ezra was just barely able to catch the boy, preventing him from collapsing unconscious into the puddle of vomit. Easing him down to one side, he was shocked to see that Vin's lips were turning blue and his eyes had rolled back to expose just the whites. Ezra began to panic and his own breaths came in shallow pants. What was happening? Why was it happening? Was Vin dying? What should he do? What could he do? He needed help. He needed...

"Chris! Chris! I need you! Vin needs you! CHRIS! Help me!"

The desperate howling became louder and closer. Clearer. The darkness was receding. There was light and warmth and ...

"...ISSS! Help me!"

"Ezra?" Chris blinked his eyes and suddenly he was back in the brightly lit hotel room, his cell phone clutched tightly in his hand. "What...?" It took him a moment to comprehend what he was seeing but when he did he instantly knew who was responsibly and how.

"You bitch! What did you put in that syrup?"

"I'm doing this for us, Chris. Soon it will be just the three of us and ..."

As much as he wanted to crush the phone in his bare hand, Chris instead left the connection open and sat the phone down on the table near the door. Kneeling next to the two boys, he checked Vin's pulse in his neck and found it weak and erratic. He also noted that his skin was clammy and cold to the touch. "He's been poisoned. Bring me your phone and get a blanket off the bed."

Ezra leapt to obey and within seconds was handing over his cell to Chris and then tucking the blanket in around Vin's shaking body.

"Good, now get on the room phone and have the operator get us an ambulance. Make sure they know it's a real emergency." Chris was tapping in a number on the cell phone as he gave Ezra the instructions.

"Nathan, Vin's been poisoned. Something in his food. Ezra's getting an ambulance now. Bring Josiah with you and stay alert, Ella Gaines may be in the building."

"Actually Chris, I'm right here."

* * *

"So, what you're saying is that it has all the right stuff to be a bomb, but it's not actually put together like a bomb?"

Buck shook his head as he straightened up from studying another component that had been packed into the box addressed to his captain. "I'm saying you could take the stuff that is in here and use them in a bomb, but the actual explosive material is missing."

JD used a stylus to poke at a tangle of wires lying on the desk. "So you knew it was safe to open because there was nothing in it that could go off, but whoever packed it made sure it would register on your senses as something other than a harmless package."

Buck nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. Now the question we need to answer is 'who' and 'why'?"

"That's actually two..."

JD paused as his cell phone began playing the theme music from 'Jonny Quest'. "Hello? Hey Blair. What...? Bomb's a dud, we're heading up now."

Buck was already to the door of the hotel manager's office, his gun in his hands and pointed to the floor even as JD returned his phone to his pocket.

"Damn it! I should have realized it was a decoy as soon as I opened it."

"Hindsight. Let's go. There's Blair heading for the elevators."

* * *

Chris stood and faced the open door of the hotel room, his teeth bared in a snarl of rage.

"You..."

"Mother? What are you doing here?"

"I've come to take you and your Sentinel home, Ezra."

Ezra shook his head in confusion. There was something different about his mother other than her hair color and style. Something... wrong. Frightening. "Vin's sick. He needs to go to the hospital."

"That boy is not your Sentinel." Maude stepped further into the room and Ezra reflexively stepped back away from her; sensing on a subconscious level that the woman in front of him was some kind of threat, if not to him directly, then to his Sentinel.

"Chris is your Sentinel. He was supposed to be mine but they took him away from me." As Maude cleared the doorway, two men appeared with guns drawn and trained on Larabee. "But now he's yours, and we can all live together."

"What are you talking about? Vin is my..."

"No! That was a mistake! One I've taken care of it."

"What do you mean?" But then, with a sickening realization, Ezra at last understood what his mother was saying. "You did this? You poisoned Vin?"

"For you, Ezra. He was blocking your Bond with Chris. Now that he's gone..."

"Gone?!" Ezra spun to face his Sentinel and began to lower the shields he'd originally put into place to block Chris' overwhelming emotions. He hadn't realized that he'd also been blocking out Vin as well but now...

"Ezra! Stop." Chris held his hands out to his sides as he kept a wary eye on the two gunmen flanking Ella Gaines. Or Maude Standish. He'd have to work out the details later but right now he needed to keep Ezra and Vin alive because that was all that really mattered. When Ezra turned to face Vin, it suddenly occurred to Chris that the young Guide was functioning very well considering the state of his Sentinel and he correctly guessed why. "Vin's still alive, I can hear his heartbeat. He's just unconscious. Keep your shield's in place for now."

"Don't worry Ezra, it will soon be over. And then you'll be free."

 _"... you hear me? Cough once if you're listening. Chris? Chris? Cough once if you... OK, one more time to confirm. Good. Nathan and I are at the end of the hallway. I've identified the two gunmen and Gaines. Buck and JD are in the elevator now along with Ellison and his men. I've given Nathan what I can in regards to Vin's condition but I need to find out if that is his blood that I smell and where it is coming from."_

Being careful not to give anything away with his expression, Chris glanced down and did a quick visual sweep of the unconscious teen.

"It's going to be OK, Ezra. Just hold in there a little bit longer. Don't panic. Vin's nosebleed has already stopped."

 _"Nosebleed. Got it. Ellison is going to talk to you now."_

 _"Chris, I'll keep this short. Ella Gaines and Maude Standish are the same person. She's been leading a double life for years now. She's here for you and Ezra. Any way you can create a distraction and let us get in there?"_

Chris drew a deep, steadying breath and locked eyes with the woman he knew as Ella Gaines. Dark, painful memories started to claw their way to surface once more but the lone, plaintive howl from before was now a chorus. Where before there had been only one, now there was a pack crying out not for help, but for revenge.

"Ella, you know I'm Bonded to Ezra." He took a slow, cautious step forward, his eyes flicking to note the reactions of the two gun men. They were definitely professionals; their heartbeats and respiration showed that while they were not exactly calm, they were not scared or overly nervous. And surely Ella would have given them orders to shoot only if necessary and then, only to incapacitate, not to kill. "I can't have a Bond with you while ..."

"I know love, and it's not your fault. But this was the only way." Ella stepped forward to meet Chris, unknowingly putting herself between him and the gunmen. "When they locked me up they gave me suppressants to break our Bond but they gave me too much."

When Ella reached up to put her arms around Chris' neck, he had to grit his teeth to keep from flinching back.

"I can't be a Guide anymore. I'm sorry. But Ezra is your Guide now and three of us can leave here and live together forever."

"Ella." As he wrapped his arms around Ella's waist, Chris dipped his head as if to nuzzle against her neck. With his head down he quickly double checked Ezra's position and then, as Ella turned her face and brushed her lips against his, he gave Ellison the signal. "Ella. Ella, I hope you burn in Hell, bitch."

Taking a quick step back, Chris planted his hands against the Ella's sternum and shoved her into the path of her hired guns. Not pausing to see the results of his actions, he lunged to the side and tackled Ezra to the floor. Ella screamed wordlessly in rage and shots rang out. Chris felt a sudden burst of burning pain along his right shoulder blade as he hit the floor with his body curled protectively around his Guide. There were shouts and additional shots fired then a wave of bodies flooding into the hotel room. Chris remained in position, with his arms wrapped tightly around Ezra's shaking body. He could hear the teen gasping in shock and his hands clutched at Chris' shirt.

"NO! NOOOO! You can't take him from me again! Chris! CHRIS! We belong together! You're mine! No! Let me go! Chris! You're mine! Forever! CHRIIIISSSS!"

"Take her downstairs and put her in a patrol car until we can get an ambulance here for her. I want guards on her twenty-four-seven. And no transfers to private hospitals this time."

"The one Ellison shot is definitely dead."

"I've got a pulse on this one but not for long."

"Make a hole people! Bring the gurney over here. Easy, best to keep him on his side just in case. That's good. Where's that oxygen mask?"

"Hey ol' wolf, looks like a bullet grazed your shoulder; are you hurt anywhere else? What about Ezra? Can you stand? There's room in the ambulance with Vin; let's get you downstairs. That's it, you're doing good. Hang in there. Everything's going to be fine. It's almost over."


	18. Chapter 18

_Ezra sighed as he stared up at the sky. He'd had no idea there were some many shades of blue. Idly he lifted his right hand and held the blade of blue grass up against the blue of the sky. Why blue, of all colors? If you were going to have a monochrome jungle, wouldn't it make more sense for it to be green?_

"… liked to take long walks. I remember this one time…."

 _But then, maybe a green sky would be more unnerving than blue grass. Bluegrass. Isn't that a type of country music?_

" …and it was a fairly steep climb up the side of the hill but when you reached the top you could see…."

 _I wonder what kind of music Vin and Chris like to listen to? Maybe I'll ask Vin when he stops talking. If he stops talking. He's been going on quite a while now, hasn't he? That's not exactly normal, is it?_

"So we came to this spot in the trail where a huge tree had fallen over during a storm. I remember Grandfather just stepping across but I was pretty short back then so I had to kind of climb over. It took me an extra minute but Grandfather didn't wait for me, he just kept on walking at the same pace. I tried to hurry and I scratched my palms up a bit but I cleared it and then I ran to catch up."

 _Well, that was pretty mean. Ezra frowned at the bit of grass he was still holding aloft and twirled it between his fingers. I thought Vin's Grandfather was a better man than that._

"A little later we came to some big rocks and my Grandfather was able to step from one to the other and keep going but I had to go slow and kind of jump across them. I slipped on one and banged my knee pretty hard but Grandfather just kept walking. When I got past those I had to run to catch up again."

 _Just goes to show, you couldn't really trust anyone. Ezra lowered his hand and let it and the blade of grass rest on his stomach. Really, was there a purpose to all this rambling talk about trails and rocks and trees?_

"We finally came to a river, well, reckon it was more of stream but to me it seemed like a river. Grandfather sat down and took off his boots and socks and I started doing the same. Then without saying a word, he just picked me up, put me on his shoulders and carried me over to the other side."

 _About time he did something to help you. Although he was probably thinking more about the trouble of dealing with wet clothes then actually helping you across. Really Vin, how could you look up to such a man?_

"When we got back home, Grandfather didn't say anything, just started doctoring all my scrapes and bruises. After thinking about it some, I finally asked him why he'd carried me across the water but didn't help me over the log and the rocks; why he just kept on walking and didn't wait for me. He said that some things in life are just a little harder to do alone, but not impossible. And when we do them things by ourselves, we can feel pride in what we done. But sometimes, sometimes it's OK to have a little help and a wise man knows when to ask for it."

 _Ah, a moral lesson. Of course. I always preferred the one about the fox and the grapes myself. I wonder if there is a night time here. Would the moon be blue as well?_

"Well, then I felt kind of both happy and sad. I was happy because I had gotten past those rough places in the trail all by myself, but I hadn't ask for help to cross the water and I figured my Grandfather was saying I wasn't very smart, not asking for help. I reckon I started to cry a little then 'cause Grandfather put me on his knee and said, 'Children learn best by doing. Sometimes they fail and sometimes they learn the most from their failures.' Then he asked me, 'If we walk the same trail tomorrow, will you need help getting over the log and the rocks?'"

 _Yes, yes, learn from your mistakes. Keep trying, never give up. I think I can, I think I can. Same song..._

"I thought about it and told him no, but that I didn't like it when he kept walking and left me behind. Then he asked about crossing the river and I told him that I didn't want to need his help. That I wanted to cross it on my own but I didn't think I could do it without getting wet all the way up to my waist and I might even fall and get completely soaked. But if he wanted me to try, I'd rather wait until the middle of summer when the water would feel good."

 _...different drummer._

"So we sat there for a little while, neither one of us saying anything, and I suddenly got this idea. I said, 'What if we took a saw and cut the tree so it wasn't blocking the trail? Then I wouldn't have to climb over it and you could keep walking and I wouldn't have to run to catch up to you.' Grandfather nodded his head saying, 'Tom has a chainsaw and he owes me a favor. We can ask him to cut it.'"

 _A simple solution. But what about….?_

"And I thought about it some more, and then I said, 'And maybe, maybe we could take the log and make a bridge across the water so I could walk on it and you wouldn't have to carry me.'"

 _Of course. Brilliant!_

"My Grandfather thought about that for a little while and finally nodded his head again. 'But you will need something to hold the log in place above the water. Maybe we could also use the rocks from the trail?'"

 _Really? How could you move them?_

"I didn't really see how just the two of us could move those big rocks. I was too small and Grandfather was too old. But Grandfather wasn't worried, he said, 'I have more friends that owe me favors and if I ask, they will bring shovels and pickaxes and help us move the rocks.'"

 _How did so many people come to be in your Grandfather's debit?_

I asked Grandfather how he could be sure that his friends would help build the bridge and he said, 'Because I am an old man, and once they were all children with rivers to cross.'"

…..

"Ezra, I ain't sayin' I'm as smart as my Grandfather. Or that you can't cross the river on your own. I'm just sayin'... if you need some help building a bridge, you've got lots of friends now that are willing to pitch in. So, whenever you're ready…"

"… I… I just need...a little time."

"Sure Ez, like I said, whenever. It's up to you."

He heard the grass rustle beside him and the sound of a person shifting their weight. Letting go of the blade of grass, Ezra reached out his hand, blindly seeking contact. When his fingers found a denim covered knee, he felt the body grow still beneath his touch.

"Stay?"

"Sure Ez, I can stay a bit longer. But the Shaman says we both need to leave soon so we can let our real bodies get some rest."

"Of course. Back to reality. And my river to cross."

"You'll get there, Ez. And if I need to carry you the first time, that's OK too."

* * *

"Pain killers and alcohol are a really big no, no. Especially for Bonded Sentinels."

"Didn't take the pain killer. And I've got three Guides watching me like hawks. Or vultures. Somethin'…" Chris Larabee tossed back another shot of Daniels and stared once more at the picture of his wife which he normally kept tucked safely away in his wallet.

"Three?"

"That pushy Dark Guide of yours, doesn't know when to back off."

"That's actually one of his better traits. And the more he cares about someone, the pushier he gets." Ellison took the bar stool to Chris' left and helped himself to a handful of peanuts. It was the middle of the afternoon and there were only two other patrons sitting in a booth across the room.

"Hmpph. Talk about a Mother Hen from Hell."

"Yeah. Well, it comes in handy sometimes. Like right now. You know, he's acting as a buffer between you and Ezra as well as Ezra and Vin? He's got that Shaman of his helping out some but he's the one that made the initial connection between the three of you, so he's more in tune with…."

"Get to the point Ellison." Handicapped by his right arm being in a sling, Chris used his left hand to pour himself another shot of whiskey. But before he could raise the glass, Jim pinned his wrist to the bar.

"The point is, you're not the only one hurting both physically and emotionally. And you of all people should know that alcohol isn't the solution."

"Buck's been running his mouth again."

"He cares. They all do. Hell, even I'm starting to think you might be worth saving." Jim's grip on Chris' wrist tightened, his fingers digging into sensitive flesh. "But not at the expense of my Guide or Ezra and Vin. You want to mourn, fine, but you do it sober and you put the blame where it belongs. And whatever you do, you remember that the ones who are still alive need you and are counting on you."

Chris snarled and jerked his hand free, but left the glass sitting on the bar. Ignoring the fiery pain in his shoulder at the sudden movement, he leaned into Ellison's personal space until they were almost nose to nose. "Well maybe I don't want to be needed. Anyone think about that? Maybe I just want it to end here."

"Bull shit. If that was true you wouldn't be trying to use whiskey to erase the memories. You would have gone into the closest alley and used your backup piece without a second thought. Just admit it Larabee, you care about those boys. From the moment you set eyes on them in the warehouse you started caring. The Bond that Blair helped you make was just the excuse you needed. It let you pretend that you didn't have a choice. Just like you pretended that revenge was your only reason for living after losing your wife and son."

Ellison waited a moment to let his words sink in and then rested a hand on Chris' shoulder. "You've got a great team and you care a lot about them. You didn't abandon them and you're not going to abandon Vin and Ezra. They need you. Ezra's worried that you're going to blame him for everything his mother's done and as soon as Vin woke up he started wondering if he and Ezra still have a place to live or if the both of them are going to wind up in a foster home."

He couldn't stop the chuff of laughter as he suddenly envisioned a pair of ordinary foster parents trying to deal with the teenage Sentinel and Guide. Shaking his head, Chris sighed and slowly reached for the picture sitting on the bar next to the bottle of alcohol. He stared it for a moment longer and then carefully tucked it inside his jacket pocket before finally turning away. He staggered a little as he stood but Ellison quickly moved to his other side and got a firm grip on his left arm. Luckily, Chris hadn't had that much to drink and was pretty steady on his feet as they headed for the door.

"How the hell did you wind up with this job?"

"Josiah thought I might have a better chance of getting through to you. Something about the resonating energies of Dark Sentinel to Alpha Sentinel."

"You fell for that?"

"Hey, it sounded good. Plus, Buck also threw in the phone numbers of the two nurses he went to dinner with the other night and JD said he'll do an overhaul on my computer before he leaves."

"And Nathan?"

Ellison rolled his eyes as he held the door open, "Promised he wouldn't tell Blair he caught me eating lunch out of the vending machines."

* * *

"Talk about deja vu." Gary frowned as he looked around the hospital room for his missing Guide. He could hear a heartbeat and steady breaths, but the only three people he could see on the bed were Chris, Ezra and Vin.

"Found'em." Ellison beckoned from the corner furthest from the door. Walking around the bed, Gary smiled as he found his exhausted Guide curled up on an air mattress with his Senior Guide Prime.

"Cute. You sure we have to wake them?"

Ellison nodded as he crouched down to grab Blair's ankle and give it a tug. "Miyazaki said that even asleep they might still be tuning into Ezra's Bond with Chris and Vin. Only way to make sure they really get some rest is to put some distance between them. So c'mon Blair, rise and shine. Wake up so you can go back to bed."

"Wow. I'm glad David never has bedhead like that."

"Yeah, well at least mine doesn't drool all over the pillow."

"Ah, nice."

Gary waited at the foot of the bed as Ellison got a groggy and only semi-coherent Blair on his feet. Once the Senior Primes had cleared the way, he stepped in and deftly pulled his Guide up into a fireman's carry. "Wha...? Gary? Wha's happenin'?"

"Relax Sleeping Beauty, you're being rescued." Gary suddenly stumbled and his cheeks turned a bright red. He spotted Ellison staring at him in surprise and gave him an embarrassed yet defiant look in return. "What? He's just talking in his sleep, that's all."

Jim smiled and took a firmer grip on his own, dangerously listing Guide as he turned and headed out the door. "Sure. Whatever you say, Prince Charming."

* * *

"Well?"

"Shhhh. Almost... OK, I think they're far enough away. I tracked them as far as the parking deck."

"Finally." Vin opened his eyes and gave them a few blinks then reached up a hand to rub the grit from his eyelids. "Thought they weren't never gonna leave."

"Double negative. Were never."

"I can talk just fine. I don't need..."

"Boys." It wasn't exactly a growl, but it was close enough that both Vin and Ezra immediately paused to listen. "Just so we're clear on this, the alcohol is almost out of my system and I haven't had any pain medicine yet."

"And all that _that_ implies." Ezra rolled his eyes as he lifted his wrist to check the time.

"The button's over here on my side, you want I should call a nurse?" Vin started to lift his head to peer over Ezra's shoulder but even that slight motion started his head pounding, making him moan and curl back into a fetal position.

"Sounds like we could both use something. Ezra?"

"Of course, since I appear to be the only fully mobile one here." Ezra carefully eased himself up into a sitting position, trying his very best not to the shake the bed too much. With Chris to his right and Vin on his left, he had very little room to maneuver but finally he was able to reach across Vin's body and push the call button.

"This is Carol. I'll be right there."

"Uh... but I haven't told you..."

"Dr. Harvey just called and said that you were all awake and what you needed. She also said to let you know she'll be down in about five minutes."

The intercom clicked off with such an air of finality that in the following silence, all three felt like they were waiting for an impending doom.

"Go on Ez, save yourself."

"He's right kid, you should make a break for it while you can."

Leaning back until his head rested against the wall, Ezra merely closed his eyes and smiled. "What, and abandon my Sentinels in their hour of need? Perish the thought."


	19. Chapter 19

"What is it Janice? I told you I was …"

"Theodore Samuel Timberlake?"

Dean Timberlake looked up in surprise when he heard the unfamiliar voice. His eyes were first drawn to the two uniformed officers taking up positions to either side of his office door but he quickly focused on the man standing directly in front of his desk holding up an FBI badge. "Wha… what is this?" Breaking out in a cold sweat, Timberlake's mind began to race as a feeling of panic set in.

"Are you Theodore Samuel Timberlake; the dean of Thornton School for Gifted Guides?"

"I… yes, but…."

"Sir, you're under arrest."

"What?! On what charge?!"

"Aiding and abetting an escaped prisoner, a knowing accomplice to the kidnapping of one Ezra P. Standish and falsifying medical documents in regards to one Ella Gaines. Officer Dickson, please read him his rights."

* * *

"Originally Maude Standish Hampton was just looking for a place that she could leave Ezra indefinitely; she wasn't planning on using him as a surrogate Guide in her place." David sat forward in his chair at the small cafe table located outside the school cafeteria. The bright, noon-day sun kept the temperature mild even with the slight breeze that rustled through the autumn leaves. To his right was his Sentinel and across from them sat Jason and Henry. At the center of the table there was another one of Ezra's white-noise generators insuring that their conversation remained private. "Thornton was one of Hampton's investments and it was brought to Maude's attention because it was hemorrhaging money and in danger of closing. Timberlake was desperate to keep his job and willing to do just about anything to support his lavish lifestyle. Toss in a pair of Senior Primes that had… issues, and it became the perfect set up. "

"So he knew about her plans as Ella Gaines and was her backup in case something went wrong?" Jason frowned in dismay. He hated the fact that he and Henry had been working for someone like that even if it would have been almost impossible for them to know.

"Exactly. He arranged the transfer to Sheffield Haven in which Hampton was also a major investor. And he was also able to provide Maude with daily updates on Ezra's progress and activities."

Henry was leaned back in his chair, slowing picking away at the edge of his foam coffee cup as he listened to David's explanation. "So, you've probably got employees there at the hospital that are on her private payroll as well."

"Oh believe me, there has been a large scale investigation launched and quite a few supporters are now crying either blackmail or total ignorance. Not that that's going to save them." Gary smiled with wicked delight as he remembered some of the more prominent names he'd seen on the subpoenas. "Like rats leaving a sinking ship."

"Speaking of rats, you explained how she planned to use Ezra as a Guide in her place, but why was she trying to kidnap Blair as well?" Without looking, Jason reached over and rescued the abused cup from his partner's hands and placed it on the table. "How did he fit into all of this?"

David scratched self-consciously at a place on the back of his head. "Ah, that actually goes back to when I was hit by a ricochet in March."

"I remember that. Weren't you in a coma for a couple of weeks?"

"Thirteen days." The words were softly spoken but David had no problem hearing them or feeling the emotion behind them. He gave his Sentinel's wrist a quick squeeze as he explained what had happened.

"Right and I was completely offline. Not only that, but the stay in the hospital also interfered with my scent and my heartbeat. There was nothing there for Gary to set his baselines against. And he couldn't make even a very low level Working Bond with a substitute Guide so he kept slipping into Zones. Even though he had never actually done it before, Blair was able to force Gary and Carlene Fancher to Bond just enough to keep him stable without interfering with our Bond. And when I woke up and was strong enough to be off dampeners, he was able to go in and remove the temporary Bond without doing any damage."

"Didn't I also hear that Carlene's abilities increased? Isn't she now a Prime as well?"

"Yes, and Bonded to a Sentinel up in New York in the Lynx Clan."

Henry frowned as he suddenly made the connection. "So Maude was planning on using Blair to force a Bond between Ezra and Chris."

"Exactly. And if she knew about Blair's ability to force a Bond, she might have also heard about Carlene's increase in strength and could have been hoping to have her own abilities restored."

Both Sentinels shuddered at the thought of Ella Gaines/Maude Standish being a Guide and Gary pointed out, "So in a way, Blair did exactly what she wanted, it's just that Vin happened to get there first. That's why she tried to kill Vin. With him out of the Bond, it would have been just Chris and Ezra."

Jason snorted. "Totally ignoring the fact that Primes seldom outlive their Bond partners. Of course, Chris being an Alpha and Ezra a future Shaman, I guess they might have stood a chance."

David shook his head. "Maybe. But if she has succeeded, it is very possible that we would have lost both the only known Feral and Alpha Sentinels. And who knows how long it will be before others show up?"

There was no way to answer David's question. The thought that one, selfish, crazy, wanna-be Guide had almost caused such a horrible tragedy was the stuff that nightmares were made of. It was Henry that broke the moment of silence with, of all things, a laugh.

"No wonder that kid was such a terror with that tree branch. And here I thought I was losing my edge, being taken out by a scrawny-assed, street rat. And that probably explains how he could wreck holy havoc on those richey Guide brats."

"Which actually brings us to the real reason we wanted to talk with you today." David reached into the backpack sitting at his feet and brought out a thick manila folder. "I suppose by now you've figured out that this school will be closing down."

"Yeah, looks like we'll be out of work soon."

"Maybe. Thornton isn't the only for-profit school teaching outdated or 'politically correct' Sentinel and Guide information. Blair and Jim have been in touch with other Clans that have experienced similar issues with poorly regulated institutions."

"Similar issues?" Jason glanced up briefly from the stack of papers that was handed to him.

"Not kidnapping of course, but poorly trained Guides and Sentinels that misuse their abilities. Or gifted young people that allow themselves to be taken advantage of because they just don't know any better. So far, eleven other clans from across the country have agreed to form an Independent Review Clan. Each of the established Clans that choose to participate will contribute two or more Bonded pairs whose job will be to go into other territories to look for problems or serious issues that need to be addressed."

Henry looked skeptical as he flipped through lists of cities and schools. "And you think we could do something like that?"

Gary nodded. "Definitely. You've just had firsthand experience with what can happen when quality testing and training take a back seat to profit. You know what kind of warning signs to look for. And more importantly, you actually care. We think you're perfect for the job."

Jason looked at his Sentinel and gave a tentative smile. "Well, I've always liked to travel."

"Eh... I guess it would be better than sniffing for drugs at the airport."

David grinned at their new recruits. Oh, they might be hesitant to give a definite answer right now, but he knew they were the right ones for the job. Like Gary had said, they were perfect.

"Oh, and did I mention the cool uniforms?"

"Uniforms?"

"That was Ellison's idea. Each Clan's representatives will have a distinctive uniform that they will wear while working. Everything is going to be above board and out in the open."

Jason shook his head doubtfully. "But, won't that make the students afraid to approach us? And tip off the guilty ones that have something to hide?"

"When criminals get scared, they tend to make mistakes. And research shows that statistically, those in need will seek you out as figures of authority and well, kind of like heroes to the rescue."

"Heroes? Do we get to wear capes?"

"No capes. But the uniforms will definitely be designed to appeal to younger people." David reached out to collect the white-noise generator and return it to his backpack. "Give it some careful thought before you agree. Not only will you be the Panther Clan's representatives in other territories, you'll also be in the media spotlight and constantly under close scrutiny for any slip ups."

"So, heroes with great big targets on our backs. Nice." Henry sighed and glanced over at his partner. They would definitely talk it over in private, but he could already tell by the gleam in his Guide's eyes that the question wasn't 'if' they wanted the job; it was more like 'when' could they start?

* * *

It felt like he'd been running for hours. His lungs were burning and sweat poured down his face, making his eyes burn and his vision blurry. Not that there was much to see; just an endless trail through a dark, indigo jungle. A jungle filled with angry snarls and growls and red, flashing eyes. He never saw the creatures that hounded him at every pounding foot fall but sometimes, he thought that he could feel a warm breath on the nape of his neck or a tug on the leg of his pants. Lester didn't know how he had gotten here or even where 'here' was, but he desperately wanted to leave. Would do anything to get back to the squalid jail cell where he'd gone to sleep while waiting for bail to be set.

Suddenly his foot caught on an exposed tree root and he fell sprawling onto the leaf covered ground. As he struggled to his knees, wheezing and gasping for air, he saw that he had arrived in a small clearing. At first it seemed completely empty, but then he spotted a large, gray wolf slowly emerging from the underbrush. It was followed closely by several others, all with glowing eyes and bared fangs.

"No. Please, no. Nononononononono!."

Lester climbed to his feet and held his hands outstretched as if to hold back the wild animals by will power alone.

The wolves circled closer, their snarls and growls growing louder.

"Help me! Please! Someone! Help!"

"What will you give to save your life?"

"Wha...?" Lester spun so fast to find the source of the commanding voice that he staggered and fell once more to his knees and cried out as his new position suddenly put him on eye level with the angry pack.

"Who's there? Where are you? Help me, please!"

"What will you give to save your life?"

"Anything! You can have anything you want."

An opening appeared in the circle of wolves and through it, Lester saw a gray haired man dressed in a Japanese style robe. His right hand gripped the hilt of a long sword; the blade shining brightly despite the gloom of the jungle.

"What will you give to save your life?"

Giddy with relief, Lester braced himself with his hands against the ground. "Everything. You can have everything I own, just please, help me."

Striding forward, the swordsman raised his blade high into the air. Lester lifted his head to follow the movement and realized too late that the strike was not aimed at the animals surrounding him. Screaming in horror, he collapsed to the ground, throwing his arms over his head in a futile attempt to shield himself from certain death.

"Hey! Hold it down in there, I'm trying to get some sleep."

Lester sat bolt upright, the scream dying on his lips. His heart still beat frantically in his chest and he was covered in a cold sweat. A shudder ran down his spine as he replayed the last moments of what must have been a dream. No, a nightmare. The worst he'd ever had. Even now he could feel the cold kiss of metal where it had come in contact with the back of his neck. Reaching up a trembling hand, Lester felt the nape of his neck and sucked in a breath of horror when he felt a warm, sticky line of blood.

"No. It was a … a dream. Just a … crazy dream."

A satiny whisper of movement drew his attention to the door of his cell and in the gloomy darkness he saw the figure of a man standing just beyond the bars. At his side stood a wolf with glowing, red eyes.

"You will need to find a new line of work."

Lester couldn't stop the cowardly whimper that escaped his lips or the wracking shivers of fear that coursed through his body. Burying his head in his arms, he curled up into a pitiful lump on his cot and sobbed in despair.

* * *

"Wow! Look at that!" JD pointed excitedly out the airport terminal window to the sleek jet that sat waiting just for them. "Man, whatever strings you pulled, they must have been spun out of gold."

Ellison gave a small shrug as he tried to downplay his accomplishment. "Let's just say they were happy to help the Panther Clan and leave it at that." No way was he going to let on that the jet actually belonged to one of his father's companies. He could well imagine the kind of questions and comments Larabee's men would be making if they learned that juicy bit of information.

"I can't wait to see the inside. How soon can we board? Does it have a theater system? It's got to have a galley. Hey, should I buy some snacks? Does anybody else want anything?"

"Yeah, the inside is pretty nice. About 30 minutes. Yes. Yes. If you want to but the galley is stocked with a pretty good selection.

"Sweet!"

"What about...?"

"Sorry Buck, no stewardesses."

The self-proclaimed ladies man gave a disappointed sigh but his wandering gaze was quickly snagged by a young red-head making her way to the Starbucks counter. "Thirty minutes you said? I'll be back in twenty-five."

"I will leave your ass. That plane will take off on time, with or without you." Chris stood next to Ellison and while his words definitely held a growl of irritation, it was also pretty obvious that he was happy to be going home at last. At Nathan's insistence, Chris had allowed himself to be checked over one more time and except for the still painful wound on his shoulder blade, he was in excellent health. In fact, Nathan had been amazed at the improvement in his captain's blood pressure readings. Even without Sentinel enhanced vision, Nathan could see how more relaxed Chris was while waiting for the signal to board the plane.

At that moment, as if sensing the medic's thoughts, Chris made eye contact and gave a small nod. Recognizing his cue, Nathan gave Josiah a tug on a jacket sleeve and together the two of them walked over to where Vin and Ezra also stood looking out at the plane.

"Vin, how are you feeling?"

The young Sentinel looked up and gave a tentative smile and a small shrug. "Fine, I guess. Still a little nervous about flying; 'bout all them things you said to look out for."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry; I just thought it would be better if you knew what 'could' happen so you wouldn't be caught off guard."

Ezra turned to face Nathan and Josiah and made no attempt to hide his irritation. "I assure you that Vin will be fine. Honestly, you sounded exactly like one of those drug commercials on television where they list each and every possible side effect. By the time the commercial is over, the ailment sounds better than the cure."

Josiah laughed and patted the team medic on the shoulder. "TMI brother, TMI."

"Yes, well better safe than sorry. Speaking of which, here's that white-noise generator I promised."

Vin looked at the little box with curiosity as Nathan passed it over to Ezra. "Noise generator? How exactly is that supposed to help? Won't the plane be noisy enough?"

"Actually, judging by the make of that particular craft, I'm sure we will find the cabin well insulated." Ezra flipped a small switch on the side of the box and as he did so, Vin reacted with a jerk and put a hand up to his head.

"What is it doing. It feels like my ears need to pop."

"I'm afraid I cannot explain in great detail exactly how the electronics work, only that the machine registers the sound vibrations in the air around it and then emits a counter vibration that cancels out those sound waves. Close up like this you can still hear us just fine, but anyone trying to listen in to our conversation would have difficulty. Likewise, it will effect the sound waves coming in from other areas so those sounds are muffled to a certain extent." Ezra smiled and indicated a special sensor on the bottom of the generator. "This particular model is state-of-the-art. By holding it against my wrist, the sensor detects my heartbeat and creates a specific sound wave to mask it as well."

Vin tilted his head to one side to better focus his hearing on his Guide. He instinctively took Ezra's information as a challenge and began testing the abilities of the odd little machine.

Seeing the two boys occupied, Nathan looked over and once again met Chris' stare and gave him a quick nod to indicate that he was clear to have his conversation with Ellison and Sandburg.

* * *

"Well?"

Sandburg hunched his shoulders and stepped around so that his body was positioned between the two Sentinels and Nathan's small group.

"Buck was right again and I have to say, I would really love to run some test on this ability he has when it comes to recognizing women's..."

"So Maude Standish is not...?"

"Nope. Blood types don't match at all. Patrick Standish is actually the name of her second husband, but everything we've turned up so far shows that he never had a son and is not listed on Ezra's birth certificate."

"So who is?"

"No one."

"Damn. Any other relatives?"

"Just through marriage so technically, none at all." Blair handed a thumb drive to Larabee. "You can pass this on to JD and he can look through it some more; maybe find something we missed. We'll of course keep the investigation open here. There is also information for you regarding Ezra's financial status. Of course most of the Standish/Hampton estate is going to be tied up in the court system for years but he does have a personal investment portfolio and some CDs that are his free and clear."

Chris looked thoughtful as he accepted the drive and the information. "So, what are we talking about here; enough for college?"

Blair laughed and bounced on his toes. "Oh, way more than what he's going to need for college. Let's just say that while Maude Standish might have been crazy, she was not stupid, especially when it came to finances. And she must have really cared for Ezra because financially, he is set."

"Hmph. Well, I guess that's at least one less worry off my plate."

"Still quite a feast though, isn't it?" Ellison grinned at the evil glare his comment garnered but at the firm nudge from his partner, he did his best to tone it down to a smirk.

"You're one to talk, some of this pile started out as yours."

"Hey, what can I say? I'm a generous kind of guy. At least I'm helping you out by hanging on to Lester. And we've got a strong lead on Hayden."

"So, uhm yeah, looks like it's about time for you guys to leave." For the first time Blair seemed a little hesitant and unsure of himself as he tucked a few strands of loose hair behind one ear. "Hopefully the flight will be uneventful and Vin and Ezra will settle in pretty quickly. Of course there will be some minor problems, like school and such but really I don't see..."

"No tests."

"Hey, I know man, you'll need time to get settled..."

"No. Tests."

"Vin's the only..."

Chris put two fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle to call his Pack together.

"Just think of ..."

"Nope." Chris adjusted his sling then grabbed his duffel bag and headed for the door. Buck came jogging back from the coffee shop with a big grin on his face as he tucked a small piece of paper into his shirt pocket. JD tossed him his bag as they joined Nathan and Josiah. Vin picked up his backpack and after a brief exchange with Ezra, he hurried over to Blair and Jim.

"Hey, looks like it's time for us to leave. I just wanted to say bye and uh, thanks. For everything."

"You're welcome." Jim smiled and shook the teen's hand. "For everything. Here, this is from David and Gary."

Vin accepted the plastic bag and broke into a huge grin when he saw the contents. "Wow. There must be like a dozen different candy bars in here. Tell them I appreciate it. And I promise to keep the dials locked down."

"Just listen to your Guide and you'll be fine."

"Yeah, now there's a prime example of 'do as I say, not as I do'." Blair rolled his eyes as he handed Vin a couple of business cards. "Listen, if you need anything, anything at all, day or night, don't hesitate, OK? And whatever it is, if we can't fix it over the phone, we'll come to you. The same goes for Ezra."

"Thanks, I'll be sure and hang on to these." Vin shoved the cards in his jeans pocket and then paused and glanced over to his Guide who was waiting at the door. The two Sentinels suddenly laughed and Vin gave a small wave good-bye as he turned and hurried to catch up to the others.

"OK man, so, come on, share, what was the joke?"

"Joke? There wasn't a joke." Jim walked over to the windows to watch the young Sentinel and Guide board the plane.

Blair followed him but his attention was divided. "Alright, no joke but Ezra must have said something funny; what was it? Jim?"

The plane began taxiing to the runway and Jim waited until it was in line to take off before finally turning to his partner and throwing an arm around his shoulders. "Ezra just passed on a message from Chris. He said there was no point in a long good-bye since we'd probably show up on their doorstep before Christmas, invited or not."

"What is it with Sentinels and tests? Don't you want to know what your limits are? Aren't you the least bit interested in knowing how far you can go?"

"Sentinels don't need tests to know the answer to that question Chief." Jim smiled and his arm tightened for just moment as he gave Blair a one armed hug. "If our Guides need us, there are no limits and we will go as far as we need to."

"Wow, Jim. That's really..."

"Profound?"

"Way over the top. You've been watching late night Samurai movies again, haven't you? I'm telling you man, just a couple of hours, that's all I need to... Jim? Jim! Wait up man! Jim!"


End file.
